


Between Sky and Sea

by nessalk



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: All The Ships, Ben Solo Needs A Hug, Caribbean Adventures, Chasing the stars and the past, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Happy Ending, Mild Language, Minor Violence, Rey in a swimsuit all day long while Ben suffers the consequences, Scavenger Rey (Star Wars), Sleep in the same bed trope, Slow Burn, Treasure Hunting, Unresolved Sexual Tension, nerd Ben Solo
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-24
Updated: 2018-11-29
Packaged: 2019-07-16 09:01:32
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 11
Words: 48,301
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16082843
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nessalk/pseuds/nessalk
Summary: “You live in a boat?”  His gaze had a physical force Rey found hard to describe. He stared at her, really stared at her, as if he could look inside and peer into her thoughts. Rey had made it her business to be as invisible as possible—invisible meant you wouldn’t be picked on, or robbed, or harassed. His full attention was like standing in the only spot of sunlight in a dark ocean for miles around.“It’s none of your business where I live.” Rey folded her arms, skin prickling.There was a long moment of silence broken by the waves crashing against the shore.“My name is Ben. Who are you?” The words were soft in a way he hadn’t been the entire time she’d known him. But a spark of intuition, the same intuition that told her a storm was coming on the wings of a slight breeze, told her that the answer would be important—the future would hinge on what she said.Inexplicably, Rey panicked. “Take your clothes off.”When Rey finally set out to find her parents in the innumerable islands of the Jakku Archipelago, the last thing she expected was a mysterious stranger to drop out of the sky with his story of hidden treasures and secret wonders.





	1. Chapter 1

“Love will come to you soon.”

 

“Do I look like a tourist?” Rey couldn’t help the bite in her words. Paddling for six hours straight had left her tired, hungry, and impatient.

 

Maz’s wide eyes narrowed behind her spectacles and she leaned back against her chair, considering. Rey knew what she saw. Most people saw a skinny girl dressed in threadbare, mismatched castoffs who probably didn’t have enough money to buy a hot meal when they looked at her. She looked more like a scavenger than a diver, which was her “official” employment at Unkar’s ship service on her home island. Yes, Rey was poor. But she was no fool.

 

“I’m from Niima.” Rey leaned forward, earnest but not begging. “Lor San Tekka said you could see the future. That you were a proper sea witch.”

 

“Do I look like a sea witch to you?” the old woman replied, brow raised. In truth, Maz looked more like a pirate in her vest and blousy white shirt. Rey wouldn’t have been able to pick her out from the crowd of rough looking sailors and smugglers gathered in the cantina if San Tekka hadn’t told her about Maz’s height. There had been something else. A niggling feeling in the back of Rey’s mind told her that this woman, as old and as small as she appeared, was formidable. That there was some truth to her reputation and that journeying so far from Niima to Takodana had in fact been worth it.

 

“I think you could help me find…” Rey hesitated, worrying her shirt between her fingers. She wasn’t in the habit of telling others what she wanted. That was an easy way for people to control or manipulate you in Unkar’s junkyard. “someone important. From my past. I’m going to find them and I need guidance. Direction.”

 

“The problem with the fortune telling is nobody wants to listen.” Maz walked over to a window admitting lemon-yellow sunlight and the sound of waves breaking against the beach. From Rey’s seat, she could see bright colored flags snapping against the wind. Seagulls cawed in the air. From the distance, a ship blew its horn—deep and loud like a whale breaking the surface. “People from fancy yachts come asking for love when they should be asking about their careers. You want to find out about your past when you should be focused on your future.”

 

“I am listening. My future is finding these people. I know it. I need…” Rey swallowed her pride. Instead of looking at Maz, she glanced around her office. The room was small and cluttered with interesting bottles or nautical instruments. A large map of the Jakku Archipelago dominated one wall along with the initials P.N. It seemed fancy and expensive, like someone had taken the time to draw and color it by hand. “I just need a little help getting there.”

 

“Dear child. I see your eyes. You already know the truth,” Maz looked at her, huge eyes sympathetic and sad. “Whomever you’re waiting for in Niima, they’re never coming back.”

 

“This was a mistake.” Rey jerked away as if Maz had slapped her. A lump formed in her throat and tears stung her eyes. What Maz said couldn’t be true. It wasn’t true.

 

“But there’s someone who still could.” Maz put her hand on Rey’s wrist. When Rey blinked at her, the old woman’s weather worn face was transformed into someone Rey didn’t recognize. She seemed different somehow, bigger and older, like maybe someone else was speaking with Maz. Or through her. “The belonging you seek is not behind. It is ahead.”

 

“I’m sorry for wasting your time.” Rey moved to toss a bill on Maz’s table, but the old woman stopped her with a shake of her head.

 

“No charge. San Tekka’s an old friend.”

 

“I don’t take charity,” Rey mumbled and dropped the money anyway. She stooped to pick up her paddle and dry sack.

 

“Remember to look up.”

 

“What?” Rey paused before exiting Maz’s small office.

 

“Follow the North Star. Remember to look at the skies. And good luck.”

 

* * *

 

 

Follow the North Star? What did that mean? Unless Maz meant she should head north? Rey shook her head as she stepped into the cantina.

 

The noise was deafening. Half a hundred sailors, smugglers and fishermen gathered around wooden tables as they talked, laughed, and cussed each other. Most held glasses filled with ice and sweet smelling liquor. The scent of Cuban cigars, sea salt and orchids hung heavy in the air. A young girl of sixteen passed Rey with a tray laden with bowls of seafood chowder. Rey’s stomach gurgled.

 

“Cheers, sweetheart,” said a dark haired man with an Irish accent to the server. He took a shot of rum before turning back to his friends. “The Vader’s a fuckin’ legend. A fuckin’ treasure story nobody in their right mind takes seriously.”

 

“A fuckin’ treasure story like Yamatai?” responded his friend. The man had dark curls and dark eyes with a Guatemalan accent. He dug into the seafood chowder with enthusiasm. “Like Shambala?”

 

“First of all, Yamatai was discovered by accident,” said the Irish. “Second, fuck you for bringing Drake into this conversation. You haven’t shut up about that arseface for weeks.”

 

“Doesn’t matter if it’s a treasure story, boys,” said a third man. He was older, grizzled, with a cap on his head and his cheeks flushed red from alcohol and too much time in the sun.  He ignored his chowder in favor of drinking from his bottle. “The Hutts are on the move for it. You’d shut your face if you know what’s good for you.”

 

“I heard it was the military,” said the Guatemalan. “If the military is after it, then you know it’s real.”

 

Sailors at a different table exchanged tips on the best places to fish in the archipelago. Rey could tell from their voices they’d been drinking for hours.

 

“Merde!” cursed a short man with a wiry build and a shirt opened at the collar. He slapped his cards down at the table. “Never had so much trouble with my compass in Indonesia.”

 

“Compasses never work here,” said his companion. “This place is cursed.”

 

“I shit you not, the islands move around here,” said an American. She puffed on a cigar and laid her cards down. The men around her table groaned and she smiled. “My crewman swears he saw glowing jellyfish.”

 

Rey passed them all, trying not to drool at the bowls of seafood chowder and the platters of fruit on the table. It all looked so good and the stories sounded so interesting that Rey couldn’t help the pang of hunger bubbling in her gut. Grimacing, she exited the crowded hall.

 

The sun hung heavy and swollen in the sky. The humidity felt cloying in Rey’s lungs and she felt overwhelmed. There was too much noise, too many people, too much to see and do and of which to be wary. Takodana served as the Jakku Archipelago’s unofficial capital . It boasted a proper dock, the only deep-water harbor, a small airstrip and a small village of wooden buildings. Vendors lined the main thoroughfare trying to entice visitors with their roasted squid and vegetable skewers,  coconut wine, seashell bracelets and clam earrings, flower charms for love and smooth sailing, and maps to the treasure of _Lima_ and Vader’s lost ship.

 

“Excuse me.”

 

The pretty waitress from Maz’s cantina held out a small dry sack to her. “Maz asked me to give this to you.”

 

“What is it?” Rey peered into the bag. Inside a Ziplock bag was a large sandwich with fried eggs, fish and a thick slice of cheese. Beside it was a pair of swim shorts, a long sleeved, button down shirt, flip-flops, sunglasses, sunblock lotion and a large water bottle. “I don’t take charity.”

 

“The food is for you,” the girl said. “But everything else is for San Tekka. Maz asked you to deliver it to him in exchange for the sandwich.”

 

“Oh,” Rey chewed her lip, puzzled. She couldn’t fathom why Maz would be sending any of those items to San Tekka. He was an old man who couldn’t be coaxed into the sunshine, let alone the water if he could help it. But the sandwich looked delicious. “All right.”

 

The girl smiled and went back inside.

 

Rey savored the sandwich as she walked along Takodana’s main street. She would have liked to stay longer, hear the different accents, listen to the vendors haggling with sailors, but it was a six-hour paddling trip back to Niima. With a regretful sigh, Rey finished her sandwich and hurried back to the beach where she’d left her raft.

* * *

 

 

“Oi!” Rey charged down the beach. Two men were picking up her raft. She swung her paddle and it hit one man straight in the back. He collapsed face first in the sand. His friend staggered under her raft’s entire weight . “That’s my raft! Teedo?”

 

The small, brown-skinned man jumped to his feet, a murderous snarl on his lips. “Didn’t have your name on it, did it?”

 

“You know it’s mine,” Rey said through gritted teeth. “Thieving is illegal in Takodana.”

 

“But it’s not your raft, is it?” said a voice from behind Rey. Unkar Plutt wobbled down the sand towards her. He was so round he looked like a blowfish rolling its way towards her. “It’s mine.”

 

_How did he find me?_ Rey thought in sudden terror. _Does he know?_

 

“I made it,” said Rey, keeping her voice cool. It showed nothing of the tension churning in her gut. “It washed up on the beach in pieces. Nobody wanted it. I repaired it. It’s mine.”

 

“But you were on a diving expedition for me.”

 

“Do Teedo’s spear and Davjan’s net belong to you too then?” Rey demanded.  The two men tightened their grips on their weapons. Both Teedo and Davjan had made their tools from bits of junk picked up on Plutt’s diving expeditions. Everybody did. But Teedo and Davjan were proud and made sure everybody on Niima knew the story. If Plutt was going to claim her raft, he’d need to take Teedo’s spear and Davjan’s nets too.

 

“This is out of your usual watering hole, girl. What are you up to?” Unkar grumbled, turning his massive bulk to face her. His upper lip was shiny with sweat and the heat made his jowls red. How the man could get so fat when everybody else on Niima was on the verge of starving always amazed Rey.

 

“Nothing.”

 

“Hmm. I haven’t seen you in a few weeks. You wouldn’t be messing around with a new boat, would you?”

 

Rey’s heart lurched. _Has he found out about BB8?_ “I took a job with San Tekka since work dried up by the docks.”

 

“It’s too bad you’re above our kind of work,” Unkar sneered.

 

“I don’t steal.” She clenched her fist, nails digging into the cloth wraps around her hands. “Not from fancy folk in nice boats and especially not from kids in fancy schools who don’t know any better than to find whatever they think is in the Bermuda Triangle. I bring up parts for you and that’s it. If you’re not willing to pay me fair for the stuff I scavenge for you, I’ll look elsewhere. Simple.”

 

“Who’d have you?” Unkar laughed and Teedo and Davjan laughed along with him.

 

“You’re so stupid! You don’t even know your raft isn’t a raft, it’s a body board!” Davjan sniggered.

 

“I knew it wasn’t a real raft like what we make in Niima,” Rey flushed. Her skin itched and she fought the urge to run, to hide, anything to make the laughter stop.

 

“We laughed ourselves sick every time you passed by,” Teedo added. “Poor, dumb Rey with her shitty, broken raft.”

 

“You believe in every myth and legend that crazy old man Tekka tells you. Your own parents dumped you on my beach when you were a brat, probably because you were too stupid to handle,” Plutt said. “The boy you saved ran away on the first ship he could find to get away from you. The only thing you’re good at is the work I give you.”

 

A muscle twitched in Rey’s cheeks. It wasn’t the worst Unkar and his thugs had ever thrown at her, but it felt like the worst. Every word hurt more than all the beatings he’d ever given her. _I am not going to cry_ , Rey told herself sternly. She swallowed to keep her voice calm and steely. “I am never going to work for you again.”

 

“What’s that?”

 

“I am never going to work for you, you piece of filth,” Rey spat. Her voice was loud enough to carry over to the neighboring boats. A few people from further down the beach glanced their way. A sailor peered down at them from his yacht.

 

“Careful, girl,” Plutt said, his voice low, threatening. “You work for me. I don’t know what kind of crazy ideas San Tekka’s been feeding you, but you listen to me—”

 

“No, you listen, you miserable blobfish,” Rey said. Her cheeks burned and her heart thundered in her ears. “You’re a pathetic bully who likes beating people who can’t fight back. Well, guess what? I’m not ten anymore! You’ve no control over me. I’m leaving and there’s nothing you can do about it.”

 

Unkar stared at her, the muscle in his cheek twitching wildly. Teedo and Davjan were aghast. Nobody had ever said anything so rude to Unkar to his face. Ever. She thought Unkar would hit her. She expected it. She waited for it, grip tightening on her paddle.

 

Applause burst from all around her. Sailors and tourists who’d overheard had gathered near.

 

“You tell him, girl,” said a dark-skinned woman with curly hair. “Put that piece of shit in his place.”

 

“Blobfish, blobfish!” cried three younger man who looked like they couldn’t have been older than sixteen.

 

Unkar unclenched his fist and muttered at Teedo and Davjan to leave. Rey blinked in astonishment before smiling slowly. She’d been right. Unkar wouldn’t beat up anybody who fought back. A shivery feeling of lightness settled in her chest and she felt joy, fierce and hot, burn through her veins. She’d told Unkar off and gotten away with it.

 

She stood there, in the Takodana sunshine, feeling proud and strong, and watched as Unkar, Teedo and Davjan disappeared into the crowds. But before Plutt left, he mouthed a single word that shattered all her happiness. _BB8._

* * *

 

 

_Hi Finn. I hope you’re having a good time with Poe on the Endurance. I’m recording this at San Tekka’s. He says hi. It’s been a while since your last message, but I remember you said you might be at sea without contact for over a month. I know you’re fine, but I can’t help picture you being eaten by a polar bear? Those are ice bears in the north where it snows all the time, right? I’m not laughing, I promise. Okay, well, a little. Things are all right here in Niima. Devi says he heard a siren in Shipwreck Point. San Tekka was kind enough to give me his old camping equipment in exchange for work on his boat. And it is not a heap of junk! I like working on the Azure Angel. It reminds me of places I’ve never been and times I can’t even imagine. Can you feel nostalgia for something you’ve never had?_

 

_Most of the expedition ships are leaving since the monsoons are due in a couple of weeks. And I’m thinking of leaving too. I know, I know, you wanted me to go with you and Poe. You were right that I should. But I’m not leaving the islands exactly. I’m leaving to find my parents. I went to visit a fortune teller in Takodana to see if she could narrow down my search. I know there are thousands of islands around us and trying to find specific fishermen is like trying to find a needle in a hundred haystacks full of needles. I don’t know if I can wait anymore. Plutt knows about BB8, and I told him off in Takodana. I have a bad feeling about it._

 

_Anyway, I’ll drop this off with San Tekka before I go. He’s going to give me twenty packages with a stamp and your address on it so I can keep you posted on my journey._

* * *

 

 

The next morning, Rey packed the last of her belongings onto _BB8_. The tiny dinghy bobbed in Rey’s atoll, white and orange sail flapping bravely in the breeze. Throughout the night, an itchy feeling grew and grew in between Rey’s shoulder blades. Though she didn’t see Plutt, Teedo or Davjan anywhere, she knew she needed to move. Now.

 

She looked around her atoll one last time. It’d been her home for ten years. Everything about it was familiar and safe—the sandbars jutting out like a dog’s legs, the coconut trees where she’d scratched a mark for every single day she’d waited for her parents, the fern tree that hid the perfect sleeping spot . The atoll had sheltered her once the nights grew too dangerous in Plutt’s junkyard. But it was time. She was ready.

 

Rey switched on BB8’s engine. The little motor gave a small roar before settling into cheerful whirs. Rey pointed the dinghy south to the open water. Poe had given her more than a motor before he’d left. He’d given her options. He’d given her the ability to go so much further than she’d been able on her pieced-together raft. “I can do this,” she muttered. “Plutt can’t stop me now. No one can.”

 

So why was she so frightened? She felt like something or someone was going to take _BB8_ away from her. There was nobody in the horizon; the skies were calm. There was no reason for her to be afraid.

 

_You should smile,_ Poe had told her. _Even when you’re scared. Especially when you’re scared. It’ll make you feel better._ Finn had laughed at that particular bit of advice, but Rey had thought about it. Poe had been an air force pilot before he’d captained National Geographic expedition ships. If anyone knew what it was like to feel terror, it would be Poe.

 

_Or you could dance_ , Finn had added. _Dancing makes me feel good_ . Rey laughed when Poe pulled Finn into a ridiculous jig on board the _Endurance_.

 

With trembling fingers, Rey switched on a little transistor radio. It had been a thank you gift from Dr. Holdo when Rey had saved her corgi from drowning. Niima and its little islets were too far from any radio towers to get a proper signal, but sometimes she’d get lucky and catch a few songs.

 

This time Rey was lucky. The radio buzzed, faded to white noise, and caught a song. With a smile filled with equal parts fear and happiness, Rey began to dance. At first, she felt ridiculous. But, the more she danced, the louder she laughed until she was singing and laughing at the top of her lungs. It was as if a dam had burst inside her heart. She could this. She could really do this. Nothing was going to stop her. Not Unkar, not bad luck, not having no idea where to begin. She’d go to every island until she found her parents. Until she found her home.

 

The buzzing sound grew louder to the point where it drowned out her song. Rey rolled her eyes. Typical. She switched the radio off. The buzzing didn’t stop. Frowning, Rey switched the radio on and off again. No effect. Her heart skipped a bit when she realized the buzzing wasn’t coming from the radio at all. She swiveled in time to see a seaplane dip into the ocean at full speed and head for her!

 

Time slowed. Disbelief warred with horror. She jumped.

 

A crash rumbled through the water. Debris exploded all around her, but she barely paid any attention. She needed to get far enough and deep enough. If _BB8_ ’s mast hit her... bits of her beloved boat, hard-won and built from scratch, drifted all around her; her dream’s ruins.

 

A loud crash reverberated through the water. The plane’s wing had struck a reef. Fish exploded in every direction as the wing was ripped away from the plane’s side. The plane skidded a few more feet before beginning to sink. Water rushed in through a gaping hole. Within minutes, the whole plane was submerged.

 

Before she could hesitate, Rey swam closer. The craft was a small, outdated seaplane favored by many of the Caribbean smugglers. They were fast, agile and able to land in tight spots if need be. On its side, she could make out the letters M I L L E N I UM  F A L C—.

 

It didn’t take her long to find the pilot. He was a big man strapped to the seat. His dark hair and arms floated around him. His eyes were shut. Rey shoved him once, hard. No reaction. She unfastened the seat belt and pulled. Using all of her strength and the last of the air remaining in her lungs, Rey shoved them out of the plane.

 

Though the distance to the surface was short, the man was heavy. Her legs burned from churning the water and the man felt like deadweight against her arms. The temptation to let go grew and grew, but Rey forced herself to keep her grip on the large man. She broke the water’s surface.

 

Bits of wood and her net bags floated all around them. Rey ignored it and looked for her atoll. It wasn’t too far. She tucked the pilot against her as best she could and kicked her way back. By the time she reached the familiar beach, Rey felt like she’d been on a plane crash too. The salty water stung the cuts on her limbs. Her head throbbed from the knock she received from the debris and from her labored breathing. Her limbs burned with exhaustion. Swimming that length and depth was not usually a problem for Rey, but she didn’t usually haul cargo this heavy.

 

She dragged the pilot further up the beach and settled him on his back. His face, long and pale, lolled on the sand. Fear iced through Rey’s heart. Was the man dead?

 

“Hey!” she coughed, thumping the man’s chest. She put her ear against his mouth, intent on a whisper of a breath. Nothing. Rey put her lips to his and blew. She pumped his chest the way an old fisherman had taught her before bending down to repeat the motion. The man spluttered up seawater. He gasped for air and turned to his side.

 

“Hey, hey you’re alright. You’re safe.”

 

The man exploded into action. He jumped away from her and groaned in pain. He stumbled backwards and pulled a gun from his pocket with his left hand. His right arm dangled against his side. Voice hoarse, he gasped, “Who are you?”

 

“Are you kidding me?” Rey couldn’t help the anger bubbling into her voice. Indignation and hysteria made her scream, “I rescued you, you nerfherder! From your plane that you crashed into my boat! And you’re pointing a gun at me?!”

 

“I crashed my plane?” The man glanced to the horizon as if expecting to see it there.

 

Rey used the distraction to grab a piece of driftwood and hit him over the head. The man collapsed into the sand.

 


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Give me money for my boat and I’ll drop you off on the nearest inhabited island.”
> 
> “What boat?”
> 
> “My boat!” Rey snapped. All the rage, terror and despair she’d been holding back came crashing to the surface. This man had annihilated her bid for freedom and he didn’t even know it. “Of all the miles of water to crash into, you had to drop it on top of me! My entire life was on that boat and you sank it to the bottom of the ocean!"

Rey didn’t feel in the least bit guilty for knocking the man out. If he’d managed to escape a plane crash alive, any blow from her wouldn’t be enough to damage his brain. She confiscated his gun, useless as it was drenched in saltwater, and dragged him up to the tree line. He was heavier than Rey would have guessed. The man was dressed in ripped jeans, boots and a worn cargo jacket. Blood stained the side of his shirt so Rey opened his jacket and lifted it.

 

The skin beneath was pale and unblemished. Frowning, Rey tugged the shirt up as far as she could. Old scars were scattered across his chest and back. The newest scar was located above his left hip, halfway to his stomach. The flesh was red and puckered, still raw and healing, but not bleeding. So the blood couldn’t have come from…

 

Rey sat back abruptly, chewing her lip and thinking. She’d assumed he’d been some hapless pilot who lost control of his craft. But he’d pulled a gun on her and had someone else’s blood spattered on his shirt. Was he a criminal? A pirate? Who was this man?

 

Dark hair fell in sodden waves around a long, pale face. Full lips were parted as he breathed evenly and his eyes shifted in his unconsciousness. She didn’t recognize him and he didn’t look like anyone from around here. He looked…dangerous in a way Rey had never encountered before. Foreign and exotic, but at the same time also strangely familiar.

 

A bit of plastic peeked out from a hidden pocket in the lining of his jacket. Curious, she pulled it out. Inside was an old-fashioned map—the kind San Tekka kept in his little library. It was beautiful—more artwork than actual map. It was golden brown and decorated with fantastical animals: kraken, giant squid, manticore and dragon. On the corner was a compass rose of a kind Rey had never seen before. But at the bottom center of the map was a familiar illustration everybody in Jakku Islands recognized—the helmet and mask of Captain Vader.

 

According to legend, the notorious pirate had amassed a mountain in gold and jewels during a terrible war between countries. Once peace was restored, he fled to the Caribbean where he knew no one could find him. Locals whispered about seeing his famous ship pass like a ghost and disappear among the treacherous waters. They said he’d scuttled it to live the rest of his days in peace. This was a long time ago, of course, but that didn’t stop everyone from trying to locate his treasure. Every once in a while, a fancy ship funded by rich people would land on Jakku hoping to find a new clue to the mystery of Vader’s disappearance.

 

It was a foolish quest. The _santeros_ whispered that the captain had cursed his treasure. Whoever found it would die a horrible death. A few people disappeared from their treasure quests, but, Rey supposed, they also could have been caught in X’us’R’iia. The terrible storms caught even experienced sailors by surprise. It had been years since someone had tried to find the treasure.

 

Then again, nobody had a fancy, old-fashioned map like this.

 

The man groaned. Aside from the blow to his head, the only serious injury was his arm. From the way he’d shouted in pain when he jumped up and the way it dangled by his side, she knew it was either broken or dislocated. He’d need to get it set and in a sling soon or else…

 

She needed to get to her first aid kit. She glanced at the remains of _BB8_ —her dreams—drifting further and further from shore. Rey blinked back tears and shook her head. No time. This man needed her help. Ignoring the tightness in her chest, Rey strode towards the water.

* * *

 

 

By the time she finished salvaging what she could, the sun had set. She broke the surface of the warm waters and glanced at the beach. The man sat against a palm tree, right arm held tight against his chest. Rey couldn’t make out his face but she thought he was looking at her.

 

She cut through the water, dragging a makeshift net behind her. The _BB8_ had been demolished. There’d been no point in salvaging it, so Rey concentrated on finding her belongings. She found her snorkeling equipment easily enough, but the rest had been scattered throughout the reef and seafloor.

 

_How am I going to leave now?_ The question burned in Rey’s mind as she’d searched. In her last pass, she investigated the downed plane.  A cold rush of fear enveloped her that had nothing to do with seawater. Huge bullet holes gouged the side of the aircraft. The engine was destroyed. Inside, there was nothing of immediate value save for a black backpack strapped to the pilot’s sea. She took that as well.

 

As she waded ashore, Rey realized the pilot was much bigger than she’d originally thought. He was as broad-shouldered as Devi, but his face was narrow and his cheekbones high and sharp. Her eyes were drawn to his lips—full and pouty like a girl. It was such a contrast compared to his hard, dark eyes and prominent brows. His long legs folded underneath him warily. A man preparing for a fight.

 

She stopped a safe distance away, equally cautious. She’d checked him for other weapons, finding one - a sharp knife stuck in his right boot -  but you could never be sure. She’d seen a pirate who swallowed his knife so he could have it handy at all times.

 

“You hit me over the head.” His voice was deep, resonant and it sent shivers up and down Rey’s spine. The words were laced with suspicion and hostility, but they sounded…formal? The way boffins spoke on the expedition ships with their fancy words and proper speech. She didn’t expect that. She thought he’d sound like a pirate or a sailor.

 

“You pointed a gun at me,” Rey responded sharply. “After I rescued you.” She unslung the net from her torso and dragged it forward.

 

“My bag,” he growled, low like a jungle cat. “How’d you get that?”

 

“Same way I rescued you.” Hairs rose at the back of Rey’s neck, but she refused to be intimidated. She tossed the bag to him. “Swimming. Thirsty?”

 

The man blinked, hand grasping the backpack and pulling it towards his side.

 

Rey took that as a yes. She approached, slowly, and set the bottle down within easy reach. As soon as she did, she backed away to the waterline.

 

The man unscrewed the cap and drank greedily. Water trickled past his lips and his throat worked as he swallowed the water.  Thick, dark hair framed a long, pale neck and his Adam's apple bobbed as he swallowed. When Rey lifted her eyes to his face, she realized his eyes had never left her face.

 

Embarrassed, Rey arranged her haul. She recovered a change of clothes, a sack of ration bars, a box of waterproof matches, her first aid kit and two freshwater bottles. No matter how long she searched, Rey couldn’t find the bag containing her cassette recorder. She was lucky she’d been wearing her belt with her knife, waterproof torch and paracord.  But she was missing her radio, her map, her spear and her body board. All important.

 

There was a curse, a hiss of pain, and a dull thud. When Rey glanced up, the bottle lay on its side, cap open, spilling water on the sand.

 

“Watch it!” Rey dove forward to snatch the container upright. “That’s our only water until the rains come.”

 

The man didn’t respond. He held his right arm against his chest, cheeks bone white.

 

“Is it your shoulder?”

 

“I’m fine,” the man snapped. “It’s dislocated.”

 

“I can fix that,” Rey chewed her lip thoughtfully. She’d thumbed through the little booklet in the emergency kit in the past. She was sure there were instructions on how to set a shoulder. “Probably.”

 

“Don’t tell me you’re a doctor.” The sarcasm coated his words like acid.

 

“There isn’t a doctor within three days of here.” Irritation displaced her wariness. For a man who’d crashed his plane, almost drowned and now had use of one arm, he was insufferably rude and high-handed.

 

“Three days?” he gasped. “Where are we?”

 

“We’re on an uncharted island in the Caribbean Sea. The nearest island on the map is Takodana, about an hour’s ride away on a boat.”

 

“Takodana,” the man muttered, thoughtful. “That’s in the Jakku Archipelago, isn’t it?”

 

“Yeah.” Her brows raised. No outsider ever bothered to know the proper name of the maze of little islands extending past the main tourist areas. She doubted the sailors in Maz’s cantina did. Most pilots who had the misfortune of landing on any island in Jakku had either gotten hopelessly lost or had crashed. Nobody ever went to Jakku on purpose unless... “Do you work with the Hutts?”

“None of your business.” The man’s voice was glacier cold. He glared at her as if she’d cussed him out.

“Fine,” Rey glared right back. “Give me money for my boat and I’ll drop you off on the nearest inhabited island.”

 

“What boat?”

 

“My boat!” Rey snapped. All the rage, terror and despair she’d been holding back came crashing to the surface. This man had annihilated her bid for freedom and he didn’t even know it. “Of all the miles of water to crash into, you had to drop it on top of me! My entire life was on that boat and you sank it to the bottom of the ocean!”

 

“You live in a boat?”  His gaze had a physical force Rey found hard to describe. He stared at her, really stared at her, as if he could look inside and peer into her thoughts. Rey had made it her business to be as invisible as possible—invisible meant you wouldn’t be picked on, or robbed, or harassed. His full attention was like standing in the only spot of sunlight in a dark ocean for miles around.

 

“It’s none of your business where I live.” Rey folded her arms, skin prickling.

 

There was a long moment of silence broken by the waves crashing against the shore.

 

“My name is Ben. Who are you?” The words were soft in a way he hadn’t been the entire time she’d known him. But a spark of intuition, the same intuition that told her a storm was coming on the wings of a slight breeze, told her that the answer would be important—the future would hinge on what she said.

 

Inexplicably, Rey panicked. “Take your clothes off.”

 

“What?” Ben’s eyes widened. A flush painted his cheeks and the tips of his ears berry red.

 

“I meant,” Rey stammered, “to dry. You need to dry.”

 

“Right.” He tipped his head down and she knew he was trying to tame his blush. “Will you, uh, help me?”

 

“Take your clothes off?” she squeaked.

 

He peered up at her from behind sodden locks. Rey’s belly flopped like a fish gasping for air on land. “My arm—”

 

“Of course.” She shuffled closer, nervous and embarrassed for reasons she refused to examine. His jacket was stiff with crusted sand and his jeans were wet. “I’ll need to cut your shirt and jacket off.”

 

“All right.” He frowns up at her, “Do you have scissors?”

 

“Who needs scissors?” Rey unsheathed her knife.

 

“You know how to use that, right?” Ben tracked the six-inch steel gleaming in her hand as she knelt behind him.

 

“If I don’t, it’s a mistake you’ll only suffer once.” His back stiffened. “Relax, I’ve used this all my life.”

 

“All your life, huh?” His voice was even as she ripped through the fabric. “What do you do besides fish people from the ocean?”

 

“I’m a scavenger.” Rey was too busy concentrating on tearing through the fabric cleanly to pay much attention to their conversation. She tried to be as gentle as she could. Ben grimaced as the jacket tugged at his right shoulder. “I dive shipwrecks, mostly. Pearls whenever I can find them. But Unkar pays the most for shipwrecks.”

 

“Unkar?”

 

“He’s the junk dealer on Niima.” Rey frowned as she sliced through the collar of the jacket. Gently, she peeled the left half of the jacket as far as she could to his elbow. “Sometimes he lends us out to expedition ships. Those jobs I like the best.”

 

“There good money in that?” Ben’s expression was casual as she shuffled in front of him. She wondered if he was being cagey considering the map he has hidden in the front lining of his ruined jacket. He’d propped his right arm against his right knee, still holding it tight to his chest. He relaxed his hold on his arm long enough for Rey to slip the rest of the jacket off.

 

“Not hardly with Unkar,” Rey snorted. “All right, I’ll cut through the right sleeve of your jacket. I’ll do it as fast as I can.” At Ben’s nod, Rey got to work. It was hard going because she had little room to work with his sleeve without cutting his arm. Consequently, she jostled his arm a few times and his already pale face went bloodless. It got easier once she passed his shoulder and sliced up to his collarbone. He tilted his head away, lips pressed into a tight line. “You all right? Do you want some water?”

 

“Just finish it,” he snapped. Rey cut the rest of the jacket away from him in silence. Ben was glassy-eyed and sweating once Rey took the entire thing off him. His white shirt was still drenched from his near drowning and did nothing to hide his form underneath. He was enormous.

 

Rey cut through his shirt and peeled it away from his skin. As each inch was revealed, she noted in particular detail the bruises and scars she’d glimpsed earlier.

 

“The good news is I won’t need to cut up your trousers.” She tossed his clothes at his feet. They might need them for rags later. “I’ll undo your shoes and take off your trousers normally, all right?”

 

Ben gave her a mirthless, dark glance before staggering up to his feet. Rey steadied him as he extended to his full height. When she glanced up, she realized she was eye level with his mouth—the tallest person she’d ever seen. Something in his gaze made her blush and she focused on his boots. They’re laced up leather, of a kind Rey’s never owned, but she made quick work of both the shoes and socks. Ben propped himself against the palm tree to keep his balance while Rey knelt down to peel his trousers off one leg at a time. She did it as quickly as possible doing her best not to stare anywhere near Ben’s hips.

 

“Hey.”

 

“Hmm?” Rey glanced up as she finished slipping off the last leg. Seeing him from this angle, with almost his entire body bare before her eyes, was more than a little intimidating.

 

He stared at her again with that dark, thoughtful expression she found disquieting. “Thank you. For rescuing me and for everything else.”

 

“You’re welcome.”

* * *

 

 

“Keep still.” Rey rotated Ben’s right shoulder. Ben grunted. She was standing in front and a little to his right, with Ben’s back set against the palm tree and his left hand clawing at the sand.

 

There had been a diagram showing how to set a dislocated shoulder, but Rey was guided more by memory. It’d been over a year ago when a strong wave had picked her up and slammed her into the beach so hard that her left shoulder had popped out. Frantic, Finn had taken her to the nearby expedition ship asking for help, which was where they’d met Poe.

 

She remembered vividly Dr. Kalonia talking her through the process while Rey listened through tears. The pain had been excruciating, but she listened to every word. She knew she wouldn’t always be so lucky.

 

“Fuck!” Ben hissed as his shoulder popped back into place. He blinked rapidly, trying to stave off tears.

 

“Did I do it right?”

 

“Yeah,” Ben rasped, clutching his right shoulder. “This isn’t my first time. I know what it’s supposed to feel like when it’s back in place. Fuck…”

 

Rey tore his shirt to shreds and trimmed a fallen branch to create a makeshift splint. Ben sat quietly as she knelt in front of him, winding the strips of cloth around his shoulder and forearm continuously.

 

“You’ve done this before?” His voice was dark and tired, lazy like the ocean at night.

 

“For myself,” Rey said absentmindedly. “I told you, there aren’t any doctors around here. There, you’re done for now. Try to eat this.”

 

As he ate the ration bar she offered, Rey created a fire pit, stacked dried wood and leaves, and started a flame. The fire was more for light than warmth. The evening air was balmy and the coconut-scented breeze mild. A heaviness in the air warned of coming rain but it wouldn’t arrive until tomorrow. For tonight, they were safe.

 

She tried not to think about her beloved boat with its white and orange sail - small and rickety, but hers. Poe had given her the motor to power the craft before he and Finn left. His dark, handsome face had been concerned: _In case you change your mind and want to come after us later._

 

She hadn’t gone after them, though. No matter how much Finn wanted her to sail away with them, Rey still clung to hope. Her parents were here, somewhere. If she left, they had no way of finding her. Unkar would lie to them out of spite and San Tekka had bad days where his mind wandered and he forgot what year it was.

 

Unbidden, Maz Kanata’s warning flashed in her mind. Perhaps not all the stories about Maz’s abilities were untrue. She had warned Rey to look up into the sky. At the time, Rey had thought she meant to look out for bad weather.

 

“Stay here.” Rey stood up and slung a canvas bag on her shoulder.

 

“Where are you going?” Ben lowered the half eaten bar from his mouth. His face had regained some color, but his eyes were squinty and suspicious.

 

“Some privacy to change,” Rey said, annoyed. She’d never needed to walk anywhere on her island for privacy. But the thought of changing in front of Ben… she couldn’t explain why, but it seemed like a worse idea than changing in front of the other scavengers and sailors at Unkar’s dock. “I’d like my bathing suit to dry too.”

 

It took ten minutes to reach the opposite shore of the atoll facing Niima. The island loomed dark and foreboding in the horizon, waves crashing against its white shores. It was a fine deception. Niima was surrounded by sharp coral reefs under the surface of the water as well strong waves. Only the shallowest boats could traverse its shoreline with ease and only the most skillful fishermen would navigate the shores.

 

Rey considered the island as she unhooked her knife belt, stripped off her bikini, and put on a fresh pair. Without the _BB8_ , Rey’s sole option was to work for Unkar again. She couldn’t make it to Takodana without her body board if she wanted to find work elsewhere; the other fishermen were much too scared of Unkar. Rey had always been practical all her life. She couldn't afford to be squeamish about the jobs she worked or the food she ate. But the thought of crawling back to the blobfish after their confrontation made Rey want to vomit. She wouldn’t go back to him. She _couldn’t._

 

Rey slipped on a short cotton dress that was easy to pull off if she needed to dive in the water. She laid out her wet suit to dry and rifled through the rest of her clothing. The canvas bag had been soaked, but the waterproof zip lock bag had survived intact. She shook out her single blanket and decided it would have to do for Ben’s bedding.

 

“All right, here’s the plan,” Rey announced when she returned. Her voice trailed off as she inspected Ben. He sat exactly where she’d left him, but something seemed a little off. Her eyes skipped over to her belongings in their neat little heaps on the other side of the fire. Nothing seemed out of order but Rey couldn’t help the creeping suspicion he’d snooped. Glaring at him, she asked, “Something you need?”

 

“Your plan?” Ben prompted her.

 

“Hmm,” Rey shook her head, deciding to dismiss it for later. Her belongings were so few that she’d know if something was missing. Besides, it wasn’t as if he had any place to hide it or the option to run. “The quickest way to get help is to get a ride from a fisherman at Niima and radio for the police on Takodana. Isla Nublar has a proper hospital with an emergency chopper they can send out for you.”

 

With any luck, it was also her way off the island. No fisherman would cross Unkar to help her out of charity but there were a few who would if they thought Ben would make it worthwhile.

 

“I don’t need help.”

 

“Your arm is dislocated, your plane is lying on top of my favorite coral reef, you’ve got almost no clothes and you still owe me a boat. You can’t swim or sail with that injury. Don’t you have friends or - or associates who’d want to…?” She trailed off, trying not to pry but failing miserably. He'd reacted like an angry caiman anytime she'd questioned him, but she needed to know.

 

“No.” Ben rubbed his hand over his jaw, desperately tired. “I don’t have anyone. I can’t go to the police or the hospital.”

 

He didn't work for the Hutts then. While Jakku technically had a government, the Hutts were their undisputed masters. The Cartel had many safe houses throughout the archipelago and frequently used Jakku to evade authorities. If he worked for the Hutts, he'd have contacted them straight away. But a man who was avoiding both the Hutts and the government? “Are you a smuggler?”

 

“I’m not a smuggler.” His lips pursed and his eyes narrowed.

 

Rey had to admit, she couldn't picture it. He had none of the easy charm of Nathan Drake or the chameleon subtlety of Cassian Andor. He was big and intimidating and grumpy. The most attention-grabbing sort of character.

 

He sighed, wary resignation in his voice. “Though…I’m the son of a smuggler. My last name is Solo. Son of—”

 

“Han Solo?” Rey gasped, sinking into the sand.

 

“You know him?” Ben’s brows quirked in confusion.

 

“ _Everybody_ knows of him.” Rey’s eyes were wide. “He’s a master smuggler— _the_ master smuggler. He can tangle with pirates, gangs and governments and get away with it. Nobody else does that. The Millennium Falcon made the Kessel Run in—what—fourteen—”

 

“He's dead.”

 

Thoughts scattered. Han Solo was a legend in the islands. Every child fell asleep at one point in their lives dreaming about his adventures. He couldn't be dead. "He's a — but—I thought—Are you sure?”

 

"Han found the key to unlock Vader's map. The Hutts found out. I escaped with the Millennium Falcon but got shot somewhere near Nal Koska."

 

"You...can't go to his friends? In the stories, Chewie and Lando—"

 

"Han was betrayed." Ben's expression was haunted as if some inner fire burned and consumed him. "Nobody was supposed to know where he was. He was visiting me. He was careful to make sure no one knew we were related; he had enemies, you understand.

 

He tried to convince me to go on this crazy treasure hunt. I didn't believe him. He's been on every treasure hunt known to mankind and came out with nothing for it. Why was this any different? Then the bomb went off. I was lucky, but Han... The Hutts came soon after..."

 

The horror and the pain in his voice was real. Despite her wariness, some part of her believed him or wanted to believe him at any rate. His story sounded like something out of a radio drama or one of San Tekka’s books. Which was precisely why Rey couldn’t believe it.

 

“How do I know you’re telling me the truth? You might not be related to Han Solo at all. Your whole story might be made up.”

 

He removed the necklace from around his neck and tossed it to her. The necklace was a pair of thin metal plates hanging from a chain. Letters and numbers were inscribed on the dull surface.

 

“My name and call sign,” Ben said quietly. “I was working for the Air Force when he came. And you've been down to the ship; the name should still be visible despite the bullet holes.”

 

Rey turned the dog tags over in her hands in fascination. She puzzled over the letters. She’d seen these before, of course, but usually on corpses and rusted over in water. She’d never seen the tags attached to a live person before. It made her shiver.

 

She handed the necklace back to Ben. “What’s your plan?”

 

“I’m going to finish what my father started.” The intensity in his voice was…compelling. Rey couldn’t help but lean in, believe him. “The Cartel is too well-placed with the government. Han's circle is compromised. So I’m going to find Vader’s treasure and get revenge for Han Solo.”

 

“All right. But you still owe me a boat.”

 

Ben blinked.

 

“I’m sorry for what happened to your father. He seemed like a good man. I wish you well in your hunt. But…my whole life was on that boat you sent to the bottom of the ocean. You owe me.”

 

“I do.”

 

Suspicion pricked Rey’s subconscious, but relief drowned it out. She’d been afraid he’d flat out refuse her. But if Ben could get her a boat, she needn’t rely on Unkar after all.

 

“I don’t have enough money _now..."_

 

_"_ Now _?"_ Rey narrowed her eyes suspiciously.

  
“You're a diver. I have everything I need to find the treasure.”

 

“Except a seaplane that’s not in the bottom of the ocean.”

 

“The Hutts expect me to use a plane. But you're a sailor too. If you get us a boat…”

 

“You’ll slip right past them.” It could work. It could really, really work. It was a crazy plan, but it made far more sense than some of Rey’s crazy plans in the past. It was clever. Except-

 

Years of experience warned her not to tangle with Ben Solo. Men like him weren’t just trouble—they were dangerous. She’d seen too many hapless fisherman and divers get in over their heads on business with men like him. _Know your depth,_ Plutt always said. Curiosity be damned, she should back away from this. "You expect me to help you find a lost treasure while being pursued by the most powerful and bloodthirsty crime family in Jakku?"

 

"Without that treasure, I'll never be able to get you a new boat. How badly do you want it?"

 

She didn't want it. She needed it. Desperately.  "How are we going to get a boat you can't afford?"

 

“Do you know of any around we can borrow?”

 

“Borrow.” Rey raised a brow.

 

“With the promise we’ll return it with payment.”

 

“You’re not going to find anyone here willing to believe that,” Rey laughed. Except… San Tekka loved collecting stories about Vader more than anyone. He was the one all the local smugglers would go to for advice on how to find treasure. If anyone could verify Ben’s story, San Tekka could. And if San Tekka could verify the treasure, he would surely be all right with lending them the _Azure Angel._ It was already seaworthy; it only needed a few more repairs to make it _look_ seaworthy. “But I might know someone.”

 

Ben looked at her. Heat and awareness raised goosebumps on Rey's skin. She stared back, not afraid of him exactly, but afraid of something else. That niggling little voice in the back of Rey’s mind, the one that told her which dives would yield the most junk, the kind that told her when to stay at home or when to sail, was so strong when she looked at him. She knew him. She could almost taste it.

 

“You never told me your name.”

 

“Rey.”

 

“Rey…?”

 

“Just Rey,” she gestured to the atoll and sea surrounding them. “I don’t have a last name.”

 

He frowned, thoughts chasing themselves in those expressive brown eyes. “Everybody has a last name.”

 

“I’m not everybody. I’m nobody.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is part of the Two Solitudes that Meet Reylo Fanfiction Anthology. It's a completed work that will be posted up every week on Sunday (to get ya'll through the week!). Thank you so much to zabeta, thewayofthetrashcompactor, politicalmamaduck and loveofescapism for turning what was a super hot mess into something I'm pretty proud of :) Thanks also to all moderators of the Reylo Fanfiction Anthology and the folks over at the Writers' Den for inspiring and supporting me throughout this process.
> 
> As always, thank you to everyone who likes, subscribes, bookmarks, shares and especially when they comment! Readers enrich the story and, though the story is complete, that's not to say I wouldn't edit if I see some great feedback. Hit me up at moonshotsandarchimedeslevers at tumblr and nessalk in Discord.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It felt odd to be the singular object of someone’s care especially for wounds so trivial. In the past, only Dr. Kalonia had ever gotten close enough to help and that had been out of necessity than of any real willingness. She’d snapped at Finn whenever he’d so much as tried to bandage a scrape. But something about Ben made her stay absolutely still. The itchiness, the fierce indignation that she could take of herself seemed to fade to a whisper at the brush of his fingers. His gaze was dark and fierce, but his touch was gentle. More than once her gaze drifted to Ben’s mouth and an odd sensation that felt not quite like panic jolted through her.

Rey woke to the sound of a net flying. She sat up, hand reaching for her knife. Davjan’s net dropped over Ben’s still slumbering form.

“Hey!” Rey surged up. “Don’t—” Her voice cut off as a lasso settled over neck and jerked her forward. She lost her balance and fell while Devi, Davjan and Teedo laughed.

“Did you just fucking throw a net over me?” Ben struggled under the weighted net, bewildered and infuriated. “Who the fuck are you?”

“Keep struggling, asshole,” Davjan looked positively amused. “I’ve caught sharks with that thing.”

“Got yourself a boyfriend, Rey?” Teedo squatted down near her, grinning. “Not such a cold fish after all.”

“He’s nobody,” Rey spat out. “Shipwreck survivor. Leave him out of this.”

“I wish I could.”

Rey stilled at that voice and closed her eyes. Despair flooded through her. Unkar and his thugs found her. They’d found her secret home. She was never going to be safe in Niima again.

“But you disrespected me in front of everyone in Takodana. What are my business associates going to say? How is that going to look in front of my clients?” Unkar sat heavily on a rowboat. His face’s fleshy folds looked ashen in the dawn light. “I raised you since you were a girl and this is how you repay my charity.”

“I raised myself! Any food you gave me, I earned twice over. You threw me in a cage with Teedo, Devi, and Davjan and called it shelter.”

“I was teaching you survival skills.”

“The way you drowned me by holding my head underwater for ten minutes at a time? I’d’ve died if San Tekka didn’t know CPR!”

“I made you into the best diver in Jakku. Even the Hutts have heard of you.”

Icy fear washed over Rey. She glanced to the side to see that Ben had stopped struggling as well. Did the Hutts already know about Ben? How?

“The Hutts came to me, Rey. Asked for you by name. Heard what you did for the Rogue One crew and were interested in your skills. They’re after Vader’s treasure and they want to make sure they’re working with the best scavenging team around. That’s the Sea Rats.”

Rey closed her eyes in relief and disgust. The Hutts asked for her, but Unkar would have told them that Rey was part of his team. He’d have wanted to make some money out of the Hutts’ diving expedition. This was all a ploy to make more money.

“I told you I was done. I meant it.”

“What are you complaining about?” Unkar demanded. “You didn’t want to steal. Fine. I got you a job scavenging with the biggest customers you’ll ever get. They’ll pay way more than shitty National Geographic. Nothing is ever good enough for you.”

“I am not working—”

“I own you!” The enraged shriek silenced the gulls wheeling overhead. Plutt stood up, brandishing a familiar piece of paper. “Did you forget? The government gave you to me when your parents dumped you at my beach. Nobody gives a shit what you want!”

“That’s an employee contract from Ingen to Unkar Plutt.” Everyone turned to look at Ben, who was peering at the document.

“You can read?” Unkar frowned at Ben’s struggling form. He didn’t talk much with outsiders unless they were his steady buyers in Takodana. San Tekka said that it was because new people intimidated him. Rey hadn’t taken it seriously; Plutt had been the undisputed junk lord of the surrounding islands for as long as Rey had been there. But she could see now how much he didn’t like Ben’s presence. Ben was a stranger, tall and strong-looking. He could hurt Ben, but if Ben had friends, important friends, then he’d just bring a whole heap of trouble to Niima.

“You don’t know the rules around here.” Unkar’s voice sounded calm. Abruptly, he looked bored and even vaguely friendly. “This girl is one of my scavengers. We’re having an, uh, employee dispute. You go on out of here. Devi can take you to Niima.”

“Rey is taking me to Niima,” Ben growled. She’d never heard his voice so low and menacing—like storm clouds rumbling in the horizon. “You should piss off before somebody gets hurt.”

Astonishment made Rey freeze in her tracks. She’d defied Unkar before, of course, but she’d never actually threatened him. She thought she heard a collective gasp from everyone watching. Unkar wouldn’t back down now. He couldn’t or else the thin grip of power he kept over his scavengers would be broken.

“Hurt them,” Plutt growled.

Teedo, Davjan and Devi were unleashed. Teedo used his spear’s butt end to jab Rey in the stomach. She caught the blow, but lost her grip on her knife. Devi’s fist smashed against her face and she saw stars. Her vision swam, her balance wavered and she crashed into the ground.

“Come here, little piggy,” Devi said, grinning. The same words he’d used when they’d found and dragged her screaming from any of a dozen hiding spots before she found her atoll. Rey fought the rising panic. She wasn’t ten anymore. She wasn’t helpless.

He hauled her towards him by her ankle. Rey kicked Devi in the kneecap so hard she heard it buckle. He howled and fell to one knee.

Rey scrambled to her feet and away from him. The big man was cussing her so loudly she was sure people down in the village could hear. But for all his curses, Devi was crying tears of pain and he was rocking his injured knee back and forth.

It was just Teedo and Davjan now. In the corner of her eye, she saw Davjan jabbing at Ben with a paddle Teedo had thrown towards him.

“Leave him alone!” Rey hastily grabbed a piece of driftwood. Teedo was circling her with his fishing spear—sharp end now pointed menacingly in her direction. “You have a problem with me! Leave him out of it!”

“You made him our problem,” Teedo snarled. He stabbed her so swiftly that Rey barely had time to dodge. The spear cut a deep groove along her forearm. Rey screamed.

From behind her, she heard Ben’s answering roar of challenge. Davjan’s laughter abruptly cut off, followed by a ‘hyurk’ and a thud. But Rey couldn’t risk a glance behind her. Teedo looked deranged.

Veins popped out along his forehead. His cheeks were bright red and his eyes were huge black pits. But his smile disturbed Rey the most. He was grinning, ear to ear, like a clown. “Rey, girl, I always knew you’d be trouble. Unkar was never strict enough with you, but that’ll change after today. We’ll keep you in the cage all day long.”

“Fuck you,” Rey spat blood. Her mouth throbbed. “I am never going back into the cage. I am never going back to Unkar ever again.”

Teedo’s fishing spear snapped forward so violently that it pierced the driftwood Rey was wielding. With a furious cry, she wrenched the driftwood and spear sideways, jerking the handle from Teedo’s hand.

“No!” Teedo howled. Without the spear, he was far less dangerous and he knew it.

Pressing her advantage, Rey did the one thing she knew Teedo would never expect—she darted forward and punched him. The blow caused Teedo to reel backwards and land heavily on the sand—unconscious.

Rey turned around to see Davjan lying facedown on the ground, his paddle beside him. Ben was still entangled in the net. Rey dropped the stick and scrambled to pull it off him.

A heavy thud made Rey scramble to her feet. Unkar had pulled anchor and was attempting to sail away. His beady eyes were wet and furious, but he was a coward, after all. He wouldn’t hurt her because he knew she’d fight back. She’d win.

“If you don’t stop and get off that boat right now, I will take Teedo’s fishing spear and impale you,” Rey said with a calm she didn’t feel. There was a buzzing in her head and she couldn’t shake it.

“You’re going to regret this,” Unkar promised even as he cast anchor again. His jowls wobbled with the effort. “I’m going to make your life hell.”

“You stay the fuck away from me,” Rey hissed. She pulled the net from Ben, but kept her eyes on Unkar as he waded ashore. “If you ever come at me, ever again, I am going through Teedo, Devi, and Davjan and I’ll gut you like a fish.”

Unkar’s eyes widened, but otherwise he remained quiet.

“Rey,” Ben whispered and Rey flinched. His fingers touched the small of her back, warm and comforting, “Let’s go.”

* * *

 

Rey rowed them as quickly as she could to Tuanul, Niima’s main village. Ben was silent on the trip. He’d gathered her things and dumped them in the boat while Rey watched Unkar and the boys with burning eyes. Once that was done, Rey helped him clamber aboard and pushed the boat to sea. She couldn’t look at him. She didn’t want to see the expression on his face.

“Do you hear that?”

“Hear what?” They were almost to shore.

“A seaplane in the air,” Ben’s voice was dark and strained, eyes focused on the gray sky. Rey didn’t see anything, but now that she was paying attention, she could hear it—a familiar buzzing. That hadn’t been in her head then. “Do you have a lot of visitors on Niima?”

Nobody came to Niima. Anyone with a seaplane had the money to afford the markets in Takodana. “They may just be passing by.”

“Maybe.” Ben’s doubt was evident in his tone. The closer they got to shore, the louder the buzzing sound became. The plane wasn’t passing the island. It was circling them. Searching. For Ben? Her stomach churned and she forced herself to concentrate on rowing.

Tension grew as Rey tied the boat to the dock and they proceeded to find San Tekka. Tuanul was a collection of ramshackle huts clustered around the only beach clear of coral. The docks jutted in disordered rows from the white sand, and weathered and clumsy-looking boats butted shoulders in the gentle waves. Fishermen hauled their catch to the village center, where a small row of stands and tents were already open for business. Rey knew each of them by name, if not by face. Their eyes saw her and then slid guiltily away.

“Are you okay?” Ben’s voice was tight and his grip on his backpack was firm. He kept glancing at the people around them then back at Rey, obviously piecing the story together.

“Come on.” They walked past the market lane and soon turned onto one of the smaller streets that lead into the jungle. Old Man San Tekka lived in the last house. Before she could knock on the door, Ben tugged her wrist gently.

“Are you okay?”

“Why wouldn’t I be?” Rey struggled to remain matter-of-fact. “Unkar was a piece of shit who had it coming. I’m glad I—” She broke off, wincing at the throbbing in her mouth.

Ben’s fingers were warm against her chin as he tilted her face up. His brown eyes looked so concerned that she felt the hysteria and terror rise up in her throat. She’d never let anyone see her like that. “Does it show?”

He blinked, a deep stillness settling over his features, followed by a flash of rage. The water receding from the beach before a tidal wave. “Doesn’t matter,” he said, thumbing her lip so, so gently. “You still look really pretty.”

“Huh?”

“I mean—” Ben dropped his fingers and took one giant step back from her. “You look good. For beating the shit out of two guys. Um, who are we meeting again?”

Amusement broke through the misery in her heart. A chuckle burst through her lips and made her wince a little. “San Tekka,” Rey said, rapping his door with her fist. “He’s a local historian. Nobody knows the story of Vader better than he does. He’s got a boat he can lend us if—”

The door flew open and San Tekka peered at them from his hut’s depths.

“Hi, San Tekka,” Rey said with a little smile. “I’m back. Um, I know this is a bit sudden, but I have a favor to ask.”

San Tekka frowned at her and then at Ben. Puzzlement creased his brows. The silence stretched for so long that Ben shuffled uncomfortably and coughed.

“San Tekka?” Rey asked. “Can we come in?”

“Who are you?”

* * *

 

“How do you know this guy again?” Ben frowned from his seat on San Tekka’s sagging couch. He looked especially large and intimidating in San Tekka’s aging furniture as he swept his gaze around the informal parlor. Like Maz’s office, San Tekka’s space was lined with shelves filled with interesting baubles, maps and books. Unlike Maz’s office, the room felt chaotic.

“When I was little, he let me stay in his house and clean during the monsoon seasons.” Rey folded her arms as she watched San Tekka puttering to get them a proper meal. She felt a little defensive of San Tekka; not an unfamiliar sensation. Nobody thought very well of the old man. “I didn’t make enough money for food back then so when the rains came, there wasn’t much I could do.”

“And he can help us find the treasure?”

“Yeah,” Rey bristled. “He’s the smartest man in the Jakku Archipelago. All the smugglers and expedition ships come to him for advice when they’re on the hunt for buried treasure. Oh, here let me—”

San Tekka bustled into the room with a tray laden with cups of coconut tea, bottles of water, and a loaf of bread with cheese. “I’m so sorry, my dear,” San Tekka said. “I was having a bad day. You know how my memory is. Comes and goes like the tides.”

“It’s starting to happen more and more,” Rey said, taking the tray for San Tekka and setting it down on the table. “Are you sure I shouldn’t—”

“Nonsense,” San Tekka took a cup of tea and slurped loudly. “Now you’d better tell me everything.”

“First,” Ben held up a hand. His voice held an unmistakable note of command. “Do you have anything for Rey’s injuries?”

San Tekka blinked at Rey in astonishment. For the first time, his rheumy eyes focused on her face. “Are you hurt?”

“Only a little,” Rey glared at Ben. “I thought we were rushing.”

“We can tell him while I patch you up.”

So she did despite the distraction of having Ben treat the scrapes she’d collected in her fight and the bruise on her mouth. It felt odd to be the singular object of someone’s care especially for wounds so trivial. In the past, only Dr. Kalonia had ever gotten close enough to help and that had been out of necessity than of any real willingness. She’d snapped at Finn whenever he’d so much as tried to bandage a scrape. But something about Ben made her stay absolutely still. The itchiness, the fierce indignation that _she could take of herself_ seemed to fade to a whisper at the brush of his fingers. His gaze was dark and fierce, but his touch was gentle. More than once her gaze drifted to Ben’s mouth and an odd sensation that felt not quite like panic jolted through her. Had Teedo hit her harder than she’d realized? She forced herself to recount everything to San Tekka.

When it was Ben’s turn, he laid out the contents of his backpack on the table between them: the Vader map Rey had seen yesterday, a golden sextant, a blue and silver chronometer, and a worn and cracked leather journal. Rey’s eyes lingered on the sextant—she’d never seen one so old and beautifully kept. Tiny figures were engraved along its surface——kraken, dragon, manticore.

“Is that the original map that hung in Captain Vader’s office?” San Tekka asked, eyes wide and round behind his spectacles. “It’s supposed to be preserved in the Zeughaus in Berlin.” Even so, his hands traced reverently over the map’s surface. “Oh, it’s as beautiful as I remember. See, here, Rey, it even has the map’s title in the bottom—Amidala’s Trail of Stars.”

“Han figured out Amidala’s identity.”

“Identity?” San Tekka frowned. “According to records, Captain Vader always said that Amidala was his home. He drew the map himself to show his way back. But it’s encrypted. There’s no frame of reference on the map, the bearings don’t correlate with any known islands and there are no islands with the names he’s listed.”

“Amidala was the nickname of the cartographer Padme Naberrie. She was the first person to chart the Jakku Archipelago back in the 30s.” Ben opened the journal. The leather cover was stiff and heavy, the pages faded, but the handwriting inside was loopy and elegant.

“That’s a Whill Journal!” San Tekka said, astounded. Eagerly, he flipped through the book. Rey caught glimpses of drawings, charts, rows and rows of coordinates, and endless pages of writing. “Rey, these are diaries for explorers made during the turn of the century. T.E. Lawrence wrote on these. Rumors say it stopped a bullet from hitting him during one of their campaigns.”

“In the journal, Padme references the three islands listed on the map—Stairway to the Sky, Sea of Stars, and Moons of Iego.”

“That’s a compelling connection.” San Tekka pulled the journal to him and flipped through the pages. He took so long scanning the pages that even Rey began to feel impatient. She wished she could read it herself. She focused on the map instead.

“You can touch it.” Ben shifted beside Rey. The couch sagged from years of use and Ben was heavy enough that Rey slid into him. With that shift, their legs touched, but Ben didn’t seem to notice.

“Sorry, just—” Rey blushed. “The figures on the sextant are the same figures on the map.”

“You’re right. The sextant and chronometer are Padme Naberrie’s—a gift from her mentor Gertrude Bell. They were special navigational instruments meant to encrypt coordinates. She used them on her charts because rival cartographers were always trying to steal her work. I think she and Vader used the same navigational instruments to create their charts.”

“I’ve never heard of her.”

“She died young.” There was a peculiar note in Ben’s voice, one she hadn’t heard before. When she looked up, she saw worry—no, fear—in his eyes. “Illness.”

“What is it?”

Before Ben could reply, San Tekka stood up with the journal and disappeared into his study. Ben frowned. “Is that normal?”

“Yes, he gets like this sometimes,” Rey said. She wolfed down the bread and cheese on San Tekka’s tray. Her stomach had been cramping with hunger, but she’d ignored it in the face of Ben’s revelation.

Ben followed suit. He didn’t tear into the bread the way Rey did, but it was close. He’d eaten a ration bar the night before, but she wondered when his last meal before that had been. How long had he been on the run? They’d finished the entire loaf and Rey had refilled their water before San Tekka reappeared.

“She doesn’t list the coordinates in her journal.” Ben and Rey jumped from their hushed conversation at San Tekka’s announcement. “She even states explicitly that she would leave it out of all her maps.”

“If you look at her entry on April 1933, she lists bearings from Bespin Cloud Markets to the Stairway. If we use her chronometer and sextant, that ought to get us to the first island,” said Ben.

“Young man, there are thousands of islands in Jakku.” San Tekka’s brow creased and he set the journal down. “Most are uninhabited. If you’re off by even the smallest of margins, you can easily find yourself in an empty patch of water. Worse, you can land on the wrong island and you wouldn’t even know it.”

“So we read her journal entries.” Ben’s jaw clenched. “If she explored it, she must have described it in great detail. We’ll confirm each island that way and move on to the next.”

“You’re not even accounting for the X’us’R’iia monsoons or any of the other dangers around the islands.”

“Rey is an expert water craftsman. She’ll know how to navigate in a storm.”

“We aren’t going to navigate through a storm.” There was no way Ben really knew her expertise in sailing. All the same, she appreciated the compliment. A watercraftsman? Who said things like that besides San Tekka? Rey poked Ben lightly on his side. “We’re going to beach ourselves like any sane person. But this is our best shot.”

“It’s a very slim shot,” San Tekka said doubtfully.

“San Tekka.” Ben leaned forward. His voice was low and earnest. “You know I’m right about the map. With Padme’s chronometer and sextant, I can figure out where the treasure is.”

“It makes sense,” San Tekka said with great care and deliberation, as if he were choosing the best clams to buy from the Tuanul vendors. “I’d always doubted that Vader would use the Enigma code to encrypt his chart.”

“Please lend me your boat,” Ben said. His voice was low and rough, the way it had been when he’d first spoken of Han’s death. “I need to do this. If the Hutts catch up to us, it’s over. I need to prove my father was right.”

“Vader’s treasure…” San Tekka bowed his head. “I don’t think it’s what anyone says it is.”

“I don’t care,” Ben said. “Even if all I find at the end is a skeleton and a rusted submarine shell. I need to do this.”

San Tekka stared at Ben long and hard. Then his gaze slid to Rey, who was seated so close to Ben that their legs and arms touched. “All right.”

* * *

 

While Ben washed and changed in San Tekka’s outdoor shower stall, Rey busied herself preparing for their journey. San Tekka had some extra food in his kitchen that would last them a few more days. When Rey protested taking his emergency food, San Tekka simply said that he’d get more from Takodana.

“Is it true?” Rey asked in a hushed whisper. She could hear splashes as Ben made use of the shower and tried not to think of him naked. “His story?”

“The artifacts are real enough.” The old man folded flatbread, dried fruit, and cheese into a waterproof bag. His fingers trembled and his brow was furrowed in troubled thought. “But as for the rest…”

“Have you ever heard of Han Solo having a son?” Rey considered their supplies. San Tekka’s food combined with her snorkeling equipment ought to be everything they’d need for the journey. She still had the knife, waterproof torch, and paracord attached to her belt. She’d completed more dangerous dives with less resources.

“I heard Lando Calrissian speak of Solo’s boy once,” San Tekka said. He pulled out extra blankets, slippers, rod and line from his cabinet.

“So Ben was telling the truth.” She trusted San Tekka more than she trusted Ben. If anyone could verify Ben’s story, it was San Tekka.

“The truth is complicated.”

“But he is Han Solo’s son?”

“It would appear so, yes.”

“So he is just trying to avenge his father’s death.” Rey huffed out a little laugh. “I didn’t believe him at first. He sounds like one of your stories. But it’s true. It’s all true. He’s really trying to find the treasure and prove his father right.”

San Tekka said nothing for a while. He only watched as she gathered everything in waterproof bags, tested the weight, and double-checked the contents.

“I promise we’ll bring the _Azure Angel_ back,” Rey said. “And repay you. Ben said the ship has treasure from all the great palaces and castles in Europe.”

“Do you know Captain Vader’s true name? His ship was called the Vader, and people called him Captain of the Vader and eventually Captain Vader. But his name is Anakin Skywalker.”

“How’d he end up with the Nazis?” Rey frowned, pausing in her work.  “Especially with a name like that?”

“In the beginning of World War Two, he worked for the Allies. He was a brilliant commander who rose quickly through the ranks and earned the loyalty and respect of his men. He was famous for winning hopeless battles. The newsreels called him the Hero with No Fear. But, I suppose, it all made sense in the end. The Nazis paid him a mountain in gold for his betrayal. He fled to the Third Reich before he was caught by the Allies.”

“So he was a spy the whole time?”

“He was a traitor. Rey, I don’t know that—”

“Shower’s free,” Ben interrupted from the doorway. He looked much better for the shower and the promise of a boat. He grinned at Rey, “Lucky that San Tekka had these spare clothes in his closet. They even fit me.”

“Lucky,” Rey echoed. A niggling voice in the back of her mind reminded her that it’d been Maz who’d given San Tekka the change of clothes. But Ben was smiling at her and she felt her stomach squirm.

“I can finish up with that if you wanted to take a shower?” Ben asked, his eyes flicking over her.

“I was just about done anyway. How’s your arm?”

“Hurts less, so it must be getting better. I can probably take the sling off in a few days.” Ben shifted to let Rey pass. His fingers hovered over the bruise on her lip. “How’s the…?”

“Nothing to worry about.” Rey jerked her face away before he could touch it. That not quite panic feeling returned, but this time she recognized it for what it was. It was the feeling in the air before a lightning storm hit. Electricity. She hurried to the shower.

* * *

 

_Hey, Finn. So much has happened since my last message. When I tried to leave, a seaplane crashed on top of me. I’m fine, but BB8 is in pieces at the bottom of the ocean now, along with most of my stuff. I’m recording this on San Tekka’s old recorder. He said he’d lend this and a new radio to me. Anyway, I rescued the pilot from the wreckage. His name is Ben and he’s the son of Han Solo! And the plane is—was the Millenium Falcon! No, I’m not joking. He was shot down because he was on his way to find Vader’s lost treasure. Before you get worried, I took him to San Tekka and San Tekka believes him. It’s all a bit complicated, but I agreed to help him in exchange for a new boat. Ben says that there’s treasure from every part of Europe in that submarine. I can get a new boat—even a better one with a proper cabin and motor that doesn’t clunk out when it rains. I won’t have to stop every other day or so to rest. I can search the whole archipelago if I have to! I’ll let you know how we’re getting along. Keep well and say hi to Poe for me._

 

* * *

  
When Rey emerged from San Tekka’s bedroom, Ben and San Tekka were seated in the living room. Their equipment was divvied into two large dry sacks at Ben’s feet along with the backpack containing the artifacts.  San Tekka had found a proper sling somewhere in his closet and rewrapped Ben’s arm despite his protests.

“What did you study at Yale?” San Tekka’s enthusiasm couldn’t be missed. “Harvard is my alma mater; I got my degree at Magdalen College, Oxford first. However, I seriously considered Yale for their history program.”

“Double majored in Literature and Comparative Cultures, and History,” Ben said. His gaze slid over to Rey and, though he didn’t smile, there was a lightness in his eyes that let Rey know he was amused. “I did an exchange program at Cambridge for a year under Dr. Jocasta Nu.”

“My old rival!” San Tekka’s face lit up. If he mistrusted Ben before, then Ben’s college credentials erased all doubt. “She beat me in our final debate competition. Hard woman to please.”

“I think I studied more than I slept or ate when I was in her program,” Ben inclined his head. “She had me study calligraphy on the side.”

“You must have been top in your class. Dr. Nu only makes her most prized students take that course.”

Rey was fascinated. This was the most she’d heard Ben speak about himself directly without reference to his father. If Ben studied in similar schools to San Tekka, that meant he was smart—really, really smart. Smart like the boffins in the expedition ships.

“It didn’t feel much like a prize,” Ben said dryly. “Ready, Rey?”

San Tekka surveyed the two of them one last time, hands on his hips. As a final gift, he pressed his emergency kit into Rey’s hands. “You’ll need it more than I will the next few days, I’m sure,” he said.

“But what if—”

“If I need anything, I’ll pay somebody to take me to Takodana. I’ll need to post your package to Finn anyway, hmm?” The old man smiled, waving the brown envelope in his hand.

“Who the hell is Finn?” Ben frowned.

"San Tekka! Lor San Tekka? We need to ask you some questions. San Tekka!" The door rattled from the force pounding against it.

Ben hissed, "I know that voice. It's the Hutt gangsters."

Rey's eyes widened. "Are you sure?"

"They leave an impression." Ben's jaw tightened and a grim determination settled over his features. "We need to hide."

"No, you need to leave," said San Tekka. "I'll delay them as much as I can. Rey, you know how to get to the _Angel_ without being seen."

"I'm not going to leave you here." Horror flooded through Rey. These men weren't like Teedo, Devi, and Davjan. These men hurt people for a living. If they could inflict so much damage on Ben, they would not hesitate to kill San Tekka. "Come with us."

"My adventures are over." San Tekka's expression softened as Rey clutched his forearm. "They have no reason to hurt me. I'm just a doddering old fool with a poor memory."

"It's not safe."

"It's not safe where you're going either."

The pounding continued followed by murmured conversation. Rey caught the words, "Go round the back?"

"Coming!" San Tekka said loudly. Then he turned to Rey and Ben and whispered, "Go."

San Tekka shook off Rey's grip and strode to the door. Panicked, Rey allowed Ben to drag her to the backyard. With her hand held firmly in his grip, Ben led her to the side of the house in a silent crouch. Rey could hear the gangsters bully San Tekka through the hut’s thin wooden walls.

"Lor San Tekka?" said an American twang, gruff with a rasp that reminded Rey of Unkar’s cigar-strained voice.

"Yes?" San Tekka's voice was tremulous but irritated. "I don't have you in my appointment book today." It caused a pang in Rey's heart. It was his best doddering old fool impression. Sometimes, it wasn't an impression at all, but today it might save Ben's life. "Who are you?"

"Have you seen a tall, dark haired man?"

"Every man in the islands has dark hair."

"Yeah." The word was gritted out as if through clenched teeth. "He'd have come here asking for information on the Vader."

"Everybody comes to me asking about the Vader."

"This man would be different." A different voice this time—softer, pleasant even, but with an underlying danger, like the dorsal fin that could belong to a dolphin or to a shark. Rey bet it was the latter.

"How?"

"He murdered a friend of ours—Han Solo."

Ben turned to stone beside Rey. Her fist clenched. Of all the despicable, evil things—to blame the father’s death on the son!

"I can see that name means something to you."

"Han Solo is well-known in the islands. He was a good man."

"He was okay," said the first voice decisively.

"You thought his murderer would come straight here?"

“Can we come in? We’d like to explain ourselves better.“

"Certainly." Footsteps creaked on the wooden floor: two distinct heavy treads, boots perhaps, worn by tall or bulky men.

"You got AC in here?"

"There's no electricity on the island. Unless you want to trek to Unkar Plutt's office in his junkyard?”

"Funny you should mention that name. You see, Unkar Plutt was the one who contacted us. He said he'd seen a tall, dark haired man in the company of a girl named Rey. I'm sure you know Rey."

The silence was longer this time. The predator breaching the surface to show a glint of teeth.

"Of course." To his credit, San Tekka did not sound alarmed. If Rey didn't know any better, she would think he was deep in thought. "But I haven't seen her since she left the island yesterday."

"You sure?"

"Positive. Unkar drives all his good divers away. I'd be surprised if she came back at all."

"Nobody else come through here since?"

"No."

"You drink from three different cups?"

"Sorry?"

"Your sink. Noticed it's got plates and cups for three people."

"I...I don't wash often." The thin quaver in his voice was the only sign that San Tekka's composure was shaken..

Rey's fingers tightened on Ben's shirt.

"This man is a violent mercenary. He's got a name in our business—Kylo Ren. Got a reputation for brutality that makes me downright jealous. It would be really bad if Rey ran into him, don't you think?"

"Yes." San Tekka's voice was faint now. "It's a good thing she's off the island then, isn't it?"

"That your final answer?" A crack like the sound of a whale hitting the surface of the water rent the air. Parrots and sand pipers shrieked in terror and flew away. San Tekka screamed.

"Griz, really?"

"What? He wasn't telling us the truth."

"Jabba asked us to keep him intact. He might be useful after we recover the Vader artifacts."

"He doesn't need his kneecap to talk."

A snarl bubbled up from deep in Rey's throat. A fury deeper and hotter than she'd experienced when confronting Plutt and his thugs coursed through her veins. Clutching her knife, she moved to stand, but Ben arrested her movement. When she glared at him, Ben pointed a finger to the front of the hut and held out one finger. He deposited their bags by the wall, then held out his hand, palm up.

Rey hesitated for a moment that stretched to infinity. Laughter bubbled up from "Griz" and Rey nearly choked in her hatred. She placed the knife in Ben's hand.

Ben pointed at her and then jerked his chin to the opposite end of the house. Rey nodded. Within a few seconds, she was peeking at the opposite end of the porch. The third man, imposing with his muscles and scars, drank from a bottle. Either he ignored or wasn't bothered by the sound of screams from the door behind him.

Rey stepped into view.

The man did a double-take upon catching sight of her. Good God, he was even taller than Ben. But that didn't matter. On silent feet, Ben stepped behind him and stabbed his neck.

Rey blinked, shock interrupting the hum of anger and hatred that filled her mind. Had Ben really just...?

The thump as the man hit the porch was loud enough to catch the attention of the hut's occupants. With a questioning "Ree?", a Hutt gangster stepped outside. This time, Ben wasn't so lucky. He swung the knife but the gangster dodged the blow with a startled "Fuck! Griz, he’s—“

Rey kicked him in the knee hard enough to send him crashing into Ben. The two men grappled with each other. Ben was taller, stronger, but the gangster was quick. He pulled out a gun and pulled the trigger a second after Ben slapped it away.

Then the third gangster—Griz—was choking Rey. With a furious cry, Rey stamped on his foot. Her shoes hit sturdy leather and Griz ignored her struggles. His breath smelled like sour alcohol and three day old tuna. He pointed a gun at the struggling pair. “Greedo, hold him steady! I can’t get a clear shot!”

Rey snapped her head back. Cartilage crunched and Griz screamed in pain, but didn't relinquish his hold. Of course Griz wasn't like Unkar or his thugs who ran scared after the first hit. He was a professional.

Rey sank her teeth so hard into his arm that she tore a chunk of flesh right off. No matter how tough, nobody stayed put when their arm was being ripped open. Griz shoved her away from him. "You fucking bitch! You crazy fucking bitch!"

Rey pried up San Tekka's homemade welcome sign and smashed it over Griz's hand. His gun went flying. Rey dove for it, fingers outstretched. Her palms scraped across the wood, but the gun skittered out of her reach. Then Griz kicked her so hard, he drove the air right out of her lungs. She cried out and heard Ben scream behind them.

She didn't know how long Griz kept kicking her. It was probably mere seconds, but the pain lancing through her chest and abdomen were so strong, she could only lay there, stunned.

A gunshot rang out. Griz collapsed before her, a dark red stain on his shirt.

Ben! He’d—but when Rey glanced up, it wasn't Ben holding the gun. It was San Tekka, hobbling on one knee, face gray with pain, a pistol in his grip. But his eyes were set on her, concern and horror making the blue wide and clear.

There was a shout of warning, then a crunch as Ben was kicked off the porch. Greedo spun quickly, face calm and collected, and shot San Tekka twice. The old man staggered back into his hut and disappeared from view.

Greedo turned back, but Ben was already running towards him. He pulled Greedo’s wrist up and the pistol fired into the air twice in rapid succession. With a scream, Rey leapt on Greedo’s back and dug her fingers into his eyes.

Greedo tried to shake her off, but Rey would not release him. Flesh pulped beneath her fingers and Greedo screamed and screamed. His hand came up to clutch at her wrist, but that only allowed Ben an opening. He wrenched Greedo's arm so hard, bone snapped. The gun came loose.

"Rey!"

Rey jumped off Greedo and leapt aside. Ben pulled the trigger. Greedo fell to the ground.

Blood poured from a wound on Greedo's chest. His breath wheezed and blood bubbled from his lips. His eyes were a red ruin and he tilted his head as if trying to see.

Rey stared. Disbelief mingled with savage glee followed swiftly by shame.

Ben breathed hard, brown eyes lit with adrenaline and excitement. Contempt filled his expression as he gazed at Greedo. Like he was a cockroach that needed to be squashed.

Unexpectedly, Greedo laughed.

"You...needed...help. You'd never...done it...on your own. You're not so tough, Kyl—“

Ben shot Greedo in the mouth.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Aboard the Angel, Rey had no choice but to coexist with Ben Solo. She’d traveled in smaller vessels than this, but Ben had a way of filling the entire space around him. Beside his intimidating size, he was easily the most physical person she’d ever met and there was never a time a time when she wasn’t aware of him. Even when he was sitting at the bow reading Padme’s journal and she at the helm, she couldn’t help but glance at him.
> 
> For his part, Ben had a sixth sense for when she was staring. His eyes would flick her way and Rey would busy herself looking at their surroundings. But then his gaze would linger, lips pursed, and her skin would grow hot under his scrutiny. He had the vague, distracted air of a man working out a problem and she wondered if that was how he thought of her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much to everyone who has left kudos, subscribed, bookmarked and of course commented. Ya'll are the best :)

Rey remembered bits and pieces of that moment—the warmth of Greedo’s blood as it splashed on her forearms, the hardness in Ben’s eyes as he gazed at the gangster, the silence of Tuanul. Such deafening silence while terror and excitement churned inside her like an underwater geyser waiting to break the surface.

But what Rey remembered most was San Tekka’s body. He looked small and frail, crumpled into himself, with his glasses slipping off his nose. He would have hated the smudges on his glasses, Rey remembered thinking.

The soft touch on her shoulder made reality snap into place. She realized Ben had been calling her name for the past few minutes. She glanced up at him. His brown eyes were a molten gold—an indecipherable emotion brewing in their depths. He held out his hand.

Rey ignored it and stood up. Silently, she recovered their supplies and lead him down to the _Angel_. Ben was equally silent. The only time he made a noise was when he saw San Tekka’s boat.

“Is that it?” At any other time, the doubt and dismay in his voice would have offended her. Instead, she gave him a long look. She jumped aboard and began preparations to cast off. She bent to focus on the task, but a creeping feeling on the back of her neck made her turn and look back to the shore.

Unkar watched them move from a hill overlooking the cove. With a snarl, Rey lunged halfway across the deck before colliding against Ben. His body blocked Rey’s view of Unkar, the beach, Tuanul, of the world even. She shoved and cursed him, but Ben was immoveable.

“It’s over, Rey,” he said, deep voice calm and soothing. “It’s done now.”

“He told the Hutts about us. I’ll kill him!”

Ben said nothing to that. Only watched her with those damned molten eyes that felt like sunlight.

“What are you looking at?” she screeched, exhausted and hateful. She stomped to the other end of the boat to take the wheel.

Ben hovered close to her, but she ignored him. Rey concentrated instead on the salt spray in the air, the orange and coconut scents from Niima, and the shudder of the wheel in her hand.

The _Azure Angel_ was a small sailboat with a tiny cabin barely wide enough for a berth and supply lockers. It was thirty-five feet in length with faded blue sails. She’d sailed into Niima twenty years ago with San Tekka and hadn’t left its dock since. In the beginning, she’d served as San Tekka’s unofficial home while he set up permanent accommodations. After a while, she merely served the rodents chewing on her tarp and the mold rotting her wood. Rey had spent the better part of three years undertaking extensive repairs to the _Angel_ in exchange for San Tekka’s food and medical supplies. She never asked why San Tekka wanted to repair the boat. He never spoke of any plans to leave. Now, she’d never know.

Tears burned Rey’s vision, but she gritted her teeth and clutched the wheel so hard her fingers hurt. The pain grounded her, kept the grief from settling like an anchor on her chest. San Tekka was dead because of her. Because she’d wanted his help in confirming Ben’s quest. The only man who ever looked out for her was gone, and unlike her parents, would never return.

Abruptly, she loosened the sails and cast anchor. The boat groaned as it slowed then lurched to a stop. She ignored Ben’s questioning, “Rey?”

She took off her shirt and dove into the water. The sea enveloped her in its warm embrace. Bright orange and blue fish schools swam past yellow and red coral below her. She swam and swam until her lungs burned and her muscles ached. When she finally surfaced, she was a long way away from the _Angel_. She let herself float, eyes turned to the sun. Out here, in the water, she let the tears trickle slowly down her cheeks.

* * *

 

When she returned, Ben had tidied the boat as much as he could. He’d put away their supplies and had spread Padme’s journal and Vader’s map on the seat beside him.

“Have you figured out where we’re going?” Rey asked, accepting the towel he gave her. She rummaged in a locker, searching for a ration bar. She took one and a water bottle as well.

The waves slopped against the hull. The sun burned white hot in the cloudless sky and a seagull swooped by with a fish in its bill. Ben was silent for so long that Rey said, “Stop looking at me like that.”

“Rey—”

“He died because of me.”

“It’s not your fault.” Ben’s fist tightened against his swim shorts until his knuckles turned white. “I brought this on you and San Tekka. If anything, it’s my fault.”

“It’s not your fault either. The Hutts started all of this, not you. Your father is dead because of them and now San Tekka is too.”

“This isn’t over. They will keep sending more people to finish the job. You shouldn’t be here. I need to take you somewhere safe.”

“No, you don’t.” She glared at him. It was the first time she looked at him, really looked at him, since the fight. Blood leaked from a cut on his brow and his cheek was bruised. Otherwise, he looked unharmed. His sling miraculously remained intact.

“Rey—”

“You said it yourself. The only way to beat the Hutts is to find Captain Vader’s treasure first. The police are in their pockets; they won’t care about San Tekka’s death. I couldn’t save him but I can get revenge.”

“I’ll do it for you. I swear it.”

“I’m not asking for permission, Ben. I’m telling you.”

“You have no experience dealing with these kinds of people. You could get hurt.”

“I’m already hurt and you know nothing about my experience. I helped you in two fights already today, in case you’d forgotten.”

“You could get hurt worse.”

“My boat and everything I own is at the bottom of the reef. The only man who ever—San Tekka is dead. There’s no way they could hurt me worse. Besides, how do you expect to sail Jakku without me?”

“I’m a fast learner.”

“How serious are you about finding the _Vader_?”

Frustrated, Ben considered her from furrowed brows. “You know I’m deadly serious.”

“Then you know you need me.”

After a long silence, a sigh escaped Ben’s lips. His head thunked against the railing as he looked up into the sky.  “All right. But if you come with me, you need to promise to do whatever I tell you when I tell you.”

“Unless you’ve got no clue.”

“I can’t afford to worry about you in a fight. When I tell you to hide, you disappear. When I tell you to run, you get the hell out of there and don’t look back.”

“Don’t worry about me. All I’ve ever done is survive out here.”

* * *

 

_Finn.  I don’t know how often I’ll be able to send these now that… Well, it doesn’t matter. I’ll save it up and send it all to you when I can. It’s probably best that I don’t tell you where I’m going. It’s not safe._

_Did I ever tell you that one summer San Tekka had me look for buried treasure? It’s silly, I know. I must have been eight or nine at the time. Not too long with Unkar. But Teedo, Devi and Davjan had just come to live with us and it was…hard to sleep in the cage. One day, San Tekka pulled me aside and showed me a treasure map of Niima. He said he’d narrowed it down to half a dozen spots but it was too hard for him to find. I spent the whole summer looking for places up in tree branches, in little caves, in atolls. That last spot was the atoll I came to live in. It was the only place the Sea Rats couldn’t find me._

_I didn’t realize it until much later. But he always looked out for me when he could. And now…_

_Do you remember when I’d wake you from your nightmares? Especially the first few days we met, you’d stay awake and talk my ear off. You’d talk about nothing or everything as we watched the sky turn pale blue no matter how much I told you to stop. I miss those nights. I miss you._

_I don’t think I ever told you, but I was… I am grateful that you told me your story. That you trusted me enough to keep your secrets. You went from stranger to friend in the blink of an eye. But Ben…Ben is different._

_He has nightmares too. He cried out in his sleep and said his father’s name. But when I woke him, he was angry. I thought if I asked him about it, like I asked you, he’d feel better. But he got even more angry and threw me out of the Angel’s cabin._

_It doesn’t matter. I don’t need to know his past. I know it’s dangerous. I know I can’t trust Ben. Not really. But I trust his rage. I trust his hatred for the Hutts. I trust that he’s going to pay back the Hutts for what they did to his father. And I’m going to pay back the Hutts for what they did to San Tekka._

* * *

 

Bespin Cloud Markets was a three-days’ sail from their current location, or at least that’s what Ben told her. Rey had never been to Bespin, so Ben had to chart their course using San Tekka’s map and Padme’s equipment. Apart from navigation, however, it soon became clear that Ben had no idea what he was doing on board the boat. He was forever getting knocked in the head by the boom despite Rey’s clear warnings. He fell into the water on two separate occasions when the _Azure Angel_ caught a fierce wind and raced ahead.

“You’ve never sailed before?” Rey asked from the railing as Ben clambered awkwardly on board.

“I was in the Air Force, not the Navy.” He looked so much like a disgruntled cat that Rey couldn’t help her smile, her first since Niima. “I feel like we’re about to get a leak or tip over any minute. Are you sure this boat can handle the way you sail? ”

That wiped the smile off her face. “I’ve sailed on dozens of boats. Some of ‘em leakier and less seaworthy than the _Angel_ .” She turned back to tighten the mainsail once again. She could feel Ben’s stare on her back as she hauled up the anchor. “I’ve never lost a boat yet. Well, until _you_ came along.”

Despite her reassurance, she caught Ben glancing doubtfully at the faded sails, the peeling paint, the uneven deck, and the shuddering wheel more than once. Anything less than a gentle breeze made the mast creak and groan and Ben kept looking at it like it was going to topple over and crush him. “Who’d you sail for again? I thought you said you only worked with expedition ships.”

“I dive for expedition ships,” Rey shrugged. “I don’t always work with them. I sailed with the _Rogue One_ crew, a University College London student, a marine salvage scuba diver, a behavioral paleontologist from Isla Nublar. Anybody who washes up in Niima and needs transportation, really.”

“And you learned this all on your own?” She could feel his gaze on her again, that look that reached bone deep as if he was trying to see inside her. Her skin prickled in response.

“I watched other sailors when I was little.” Unkar had actually made her help fishermen as they made their rounds in Niima. He got some money from the fishermen and his scavengers learned how to sail. It’d been a win-win situation for him. But she didn’t want to tell Ben that. “Would you feel better if I showed you how to sail?”

So Rey showed Ben how to unfurl the ropes that tied the sail, how to tack into the wind, how to watch out for obstructions. Sailing wasn’t hard, exactly, but sailing around the Jakku Islands _was_. They passed several wrecks, some recent, but always many around jagged coral reef or low-rising rocks or sandbars. Once, they spotted the wreck of a large fishing vessel. The water frothed red with fish carcasses in nets and the frenetic dorsal fins of sharks.

It was an odd experience for Rey. She’d been a solitary creature by necessity her entire life. Finn had been the only person to break her solitude and become her friend. He’d been the only person she’d even wanted to spend time with. Aboard the _Angel_ , Rey had no choice but to coexist with Ben Solo. She’d traveled in smaller vessels than this, but Ben had a way of filling the entire space around him. Beside his intimidating size, he was easily the most physical person she’d ever met and there was never a time a time when she wasn’t aware of him. Even when he was sitting at the bow reading Padme’s journal and she at the helm, she couldn’t help but glance at him.

For his part, Ben had a sixth sense for when she was staring. His eyes would flick her way and Rey would busy herself looking at their surroundings. But then his gaze would linger, lips pursed, and her skin would grow hot under his scrutiny. He had the vague, distracted air of a man working out a problem and she wondered if that was how he thought of her.

As the sun reached its zenith, Rey cast anchor near an island with white sand and rocky outcropping. The water was a perfect turquoise that faded to translucence the closer it got to the sand. The sun glinted off the surface and cast flashes of gold against sea anemone and starfish on the seafloor.

Rey’s first instinct had been to fish for their lunch, ever mindful of their limited supplies, but Ben had said they didn’t have time. So Rey munched on her tasteless ration bar in the shade of the _Angel’s_ mast, listening to the cry of seagulls while Ben poured over a map.

“If we take this route, we can get to Bespin faster.” Ben drew a line across the map that terminated at the northwest corner of the archipelago. Rey squinted to make out details before giving up and plunking herself on the bench next to the map. “I think it’s called the Rishi Corridor.”

“Can’t we go around?” Rey’s mouth dried and she had difficulty swallowing her food. She’d heard stories about the Rishi Corridor—strange creatures, haunted islands, odd weather patterns. Sailors’ stories, perhaps, but it never failed to give her the creeping shivers.

“We’d add two more days if we took another route.” Ben lowered his pencil and considered her with that calm gaze. “What’s wrong with this one?”

“I’ve never been there.”

“That’s the point.” Ben’s tone was dismissive as he sat back and unwrapped his ration bar. It looked tiny in his hand and it disappeared after a few swift bites. “You’re going to plenty more places you’ve never been before the end of this journey.”

“It’s got a bad reputation. Sailors have a bad track record going through there,” she scowled, cheeks flushing. By sailors, she meant pirates or the one time the _Rogue One_ crew had sailed through the edge of the Corridor to avoid the Guavian Death Gang.

“Are you saying you can’t handle it?”

“I’m saying that it’d be wise to avoid going to dangerous places,” Rey bristled. “Why ask for trouble?”

“Can the _Angel_ handle it?”

“The _Angel_ can handle anything except for a hurricane,” Rey snapped. She jumped to her feet, hands on her hips. “The boat isn’t the issue and I’m tired of you making comments about it. Even if it weren’t, we’re stuck with what we got, all right?”

“If it’s not the boat and it’s not your ability as a sailor, then there’s no issue.”

“There’s a reason Jakku is called the Graveyard of the Caribbean! We can’t just ignore natural disasters.”

“We have to. The quicker we get this done, the less danger we’ll be exposed to. If the Hutts are as squeamish as others in Jakku, they won’t be in the Corridor.”

What was that supposed to mean? She resisted the urge to bare her teeth at Ben. Instead, she stomped over to the mast, hoisted a rope up the main halyard and picked up the ascender.

“What are you doing?”

“Checking the rigging.” She didn’t trust herself not to roll her eyes as she tied the knots to secure herself. What did he think she was doing?  “If we’re going to be sailing in rough waters, we can’t afford any accidents, can we?” Climbing the mast took a lot of effort but Rey welcomed the distraction. By the time she reached the top, the _Angel’s_ deck was small and she could see him staring up at her with his hands on his hips. What was his problem?

She fumed as she secured the rigging. Ever since she’d woken him from his nightmare, he’d been a right pain in the ass. Was he embarrassed? Finn hadn’t been embarrassed about his nightmares. God knew she had her own nightmares to choose from.

A parrot cawed noisily on a nearby gumi-limbo tree. Rey paused in her work to watch the bright orange, blue and green bird descend into a nest perched at the intersection of two thick red branches. Faint high chirps disrupted the sound of waves crashing against the shore. She chewed her bottom lip, delighted but sad at the same time. Birds like these rarely nested in Niima as Teedo, Davjan and Devi had taken to tormenting the wildlife. She hadn’t seen a family of birds in ages.

“Rey!”

Startled, Rey glanced down to see Ben. He was still staring up at her, but now his arms were crossed. “What?”

“You’re going to fall and break your neck!”

She’d just about had enough of his attitude. She tugged at the rigging one last time to test the knot before rappelling down at a fast clip. To her shock, Ben caught her in his arms before her feet could touch the ground. He grunted as he caught her entire weight and staggered backwards.

“Are you crazy? Let me go!” Rey yelled, squirming in his grasp. His bare chest was warm against her side and his arms were secure underneath her knees and around her shoulders.

“You fell!”

“I didn’t fall; I slid off.” She thumped his chest for good measure. It was rock solid underneath her fingertips. “I had everything under control. Why don’t you trust me? I’m an _expert water craftsman_ , remember? You hired me to do this job for you. Let me do my job.”

He was giving her that look again, the look that made her skin tingle. He didn’t have Poe’s roguish smile that was forever charming girls in every island. He didn’t feel safe or warm like Finn who made friends everywhere he went. But all the same, her stomach tightened and breathing became a difficulty. His eyes dropped to her lips and her heart started thundering in her ears.

“Ben?” Her voice was breathless. Whispery. Totally unlike her.

Ben dropped her and because she’d been so distracted, she landed flat on her bum. “Ow!” she swore. “You ass!”

“You’re right,” he told her. His expression was cool now and remote. “I did hire you for this job. If you’re done, let’s head out.”

For the rest of the day, Ben kept his comments to himself. He was oddly formal with her now, though he still tried to help whenever he could. He winced whenever he raised his right arm higher than his shoulder, so Rey made him keep the sling on and did the work herself.

The Rishi Corridor was a tortuous maze of little islands and jagged coral just below the water's surface. At once, Rey understood why it was a course little used by sailors or smugglers. It took all of her concentration and Ben's sharp lookout from the bow to keep the _Angel_ from smashing against treacherous sandbars or sharp rocks. The wind blew either too strong or not enough. Ben and Rey were forced into a silent and uneasy cooperation, their earlier fight forgotten in the face of this new difficulty.

Sometime in the afternoon, she saw him tapping the compass on the sextant in exasperation. The needle swung slowly to the left, then the right, before listing towards the direction of the setting sun. “You’d think a compass on a cartographer’s sextant would be topnotch.”

“Compasses don’t really work in Jakku.” It was the first time he’d spoken to her aside from terse offers to help. Rey concentrated on maneuvering them between a particularly narrow path between two sand bars and an atoll. “The _santeros_ say it’s because the spirits are angry.”

“What would the spirits have to be angry about?”

“The people haven’t practiced human sacrifice in a while.” At Ben’s stare, Rey let the ghost of a smirk form on her lips.

“Are you teasing me?”

“Never.”

By the time the sun slipped below the horizon, Rey was sore from gripping the wheel too tightly or winding and unwinding the rope that would adjust the sail. They cast anchor before full dark. The water was so shallow that Rey could see sand just a few feet from the boat’s rudder. A lone mangrove tree with red blossoms rose from the sand, silhouetted by a swollen yellow moon hanging low over the horizon. It was so bright that Rey decided to swim around the tree and inspect their surroundings.

“Where are you going?” Ben looked up from where he’d spread out a complete map of the archipelago and a yellow tablet.

“Around.” Rey wriggled out of her shirt and stepped up to the railing.

“Why? It’s not safe.”

“If I waited until it was safe to do anything, I’d be stuck doing nothing.” She was about to jump off but Ben caught her arm. Rey blinked, astonished at how quickly and quietly he’d moved—like a cat.

“Are you checking out the perimeter?”

“Sure.” Rey hedged, but at Ben’s unblinking stare, she relented, “It’s pretty, Ben. I want to take a look around. I’ve never seen a mangrove tree by itself before. Aren’t you even a little bit curious?”

“Pretty,” Ben repeated. His eyes slid to the tree several hundred feet away. The moonlight turn his skin silvery pale and his eyes, already so intense in broad daylight, looked almost black. He was striking, Rey realized, followed quickly by, _I like looking at him._ “It’s just a tree.”

Rey bristled, embarrassment fading to irritation, “Look around you. There’s barely any land; there are no other trees for miles around. Against the surf and the winds, the storms and the heat, it’s surviving. The least you can do is give it some respect!”

Ben rocked back, dropping his hand from her arm. “Um, wow. Okay”

“Don’t tell me it’s stupid,” Rey said crabbily. “It’s not just a tree.” After one parting glare, she dove into the water. _Ass_ , she thought as she swam several laps around the tree just to annoy him. What was it to him anyway what she did on her spare time? Scouting the perimeter. Like she was his crewman on a ship or a soldier in the military. She was the more experienced sailor!

Her exertion soon burned her irritation away. With one last cleansing breath, she drifted to the solitary mangrove. Up close, the tree was enormous. It’s thick trunk towered several feet into the air, its branches extending out to the sky and a strong root system wove around a little hill that peeked just a little over the water. Rey waded through the water and up the roots, and explored the little ecosystem that had sprung up around the tree. Fish darted away from her approach. She spied a group of sea gulls hopping around a shallow sand depression protected by the roots of the mangrove. Upon closer inspection, she realized that the gulls were feasting on a group of baby turtles just making their way out of their nest and into the water.

“Get off!” Rey cried, throwing sand at the birds. The gulls cawed angrily and took flight. “Pick on someone else.”

But the damage was done. Very few baby sea turtles remained to make their way into the water. Biting her lip, Rey stood a silent guard until the last of them disappeared into the water. With a somber heart, she made her way back to the _Angel._

“What’s the matter?” Ben looked up from where he’d spread out a complete map of the archipelago and was scratching calculations on a yellow tablet. The sextant and chronometer were laid out beside the map as well as Padme’s journal. Though the pages were unlined, the cursive marched in straight even lines. Interspersed in the margins and between each section were drawings—of bougainvillea flowers, of coral formations, of trees and of islands.

For a wild moment, she thought about telling Ben. But that was silly. He wouldn’t understand why seeing baby turtles swallowed up by birds would make her sad. Unkar would have said it was the way of the world. Teedo would have tossed the turtles to the gulls. “Nothing.”

Ben’s gaze lingered on her face before flicking to the tree and back. “Did you, uh, have a good swim?”

“Sure,” she said, grabbing a towel and drying herself off. She sat down on the bench before she realized that Ben had laid out a ration bar for her at what was rapidly becoming her spot on the _Angel._ She unwrapped the bar, feeling an odd mixture of confusion, humor and gratitude. “Have you been able to take any measurements at all?“

"I'll wait until the stars come out.”

"You can take measurements with stars?" Rey asked in fascination. Bodhi Rook, the newest member of the _Rogue One_ crew, had taught her to identify the North Star to get her bearings at night. She hadn't realized that it was accurate enough to take measurements with.

"I suspect that's what Padme had to do when she was charting the archipelago," Ben responded. "The compasses are inaccurate enough to give wildly false readings. It explains why she spent a lot of time camping at each island."

It was a simple and elegant solution to a common problem that plagued many of the sailors throughout the archipelago. Most of the island sailors only knew enough to get to their closest island. Rey had been lucky a few of the sailors on Niima had known a straight course to Takodana. But to go from island to island was reserved for the sailors whose boats had chart plotters, electronic sea charts or even a simple handheld GPS machine fitted for marine travel.

Rey watched him work with fascination while she munched on her ration bar. His thick, dark hair fell across his brow and he pursed his lips when he was thinking. Sometimes he tapped the pencil against his lips when a calculation gave him pause. “What are you working on?”

“I’m trying to figure out the exact coordinates of the islands.” He gestured to the numbers and letters scrawled across the page. It made no sense to Rey. “If I can do that, maybe we can skip to the last island.”

“That sounds too risky. How would you even know if you’re on the right island?”

“But it’d be faster. I don’t have much time before…”

Before the Hutts caught up to them. Rey glanced at the horizon. She saw no other ships on the horizon but that was no guarantee nobody was watching. “In Jakku, it’s better to get it right than to do it fast.”

“I said you’re right,” Ben snapped, throwing the pencil down.

Memories of Unkar’s quick fist flashed in her mind. She tensed, ready to jerk away at any moment. Then Ben sighed and the tension leaked out of his stiff frame.

“I apologize,” he said. “Not just for right now but… for before as well. I’m just frustrated. If I had any equipment—hell, even a simple calculator—I’m certain I can work out proper coordinates based on the clues in the journal.” He ran a hand through his hair and swallowed. “I haven’t slept or eaten properly in a while and I…I shouldn’t have acted that way. Forgive me. Please.”

No one had ever formally apologized to Rey before. It felt funny and foreign especially when Ben was so intimidating and so obviously unused to saying it. She almost didn’t trust it. But the way Ben hung his head and the regret written across his face convinced her in a way his words couldn’t.

“I forgive you,” she said, sounding the words out.

The smile Ben gave her was so quick she almost didn’t catch it. But it did linger in his eyes and that was almost as good. She settled back in her seat, still cautious, but no longer ready to bolt.

Ben spread out a map of the archipelago along with Padme’s journal on the deck. The moon was so bright Rey could see every detail clearly—the neat, elegant curves of letters, the little drawings on the margin, the glint of gold along the sextant. Already, San Tekka’s map had been marked with Ben’s notations—labels, numbers and arrows. Despite herself, Rey couldn’t help but draw closer to the maps and the illustrations in Padme’s journal.

“Do you want to help?” Ben asked, looking up at her from where he was bent over the pages. “Padme’s maps are a bit piecemeal. I’m trying to put them together and compare them to the complete map.”

“Oh,” Rey flushed. She chewed her lip, “Yeah, sure. What do I do?”

“I’ve marked each of the maps and illustrations with the date and the coordinates,” said Ben. He handed her a sheaf of papers. It felt heavy in her hands. The paper was thick and had an almost oily texture under her fingertips. She flipped one page and saw drawings of unfamiliar islands. She flipped another and saw drawings of dolphins swimming along a very familiar atoll.

“That’s Niima!” she said.

“I think that was someone else’s drawings,” Ben said, glancing at the page. “Padme didn’t mention Niima in her journals, but she said that her friend had visited.”

“Padme knew Niima?” Rey asked in wonder. She knew she shouldn’t feel so surprised. If it’d been Plutt, he’d have made fun of her.  If Padme had been the first person to chart Jakku, it made sense for her to know Niima. But in her mind, Padme already seemed like a storybook figure than a real person. The tangible reminder that Padme once traveled the same waters as Rey made her flush. Padme was someone important—someone brave and smart and worldly.

Ben methodically compared illustrations and notations as he spread out his own sheaf of papers. He’d donned an unbuttoned shirt that did nothing to hide the breadth of his shoulders. “Do you have the drawing of the Sullust Islands?”

Biting her lip, Rey shuffled through the papers. “Is there a date on it? Or coordinates?”

“January 1927, I think. Or February 1927.”

Rey handed Ben all the drawings with 1927 on it. He glanced up at her in confusion but she shrugged and said, “I figured you’d need them all anyway. Here, let me find things so you can weigh down the maps.”

So it went. It was an odd feeling for Rey, and a little gratifying too, as they worked together to piece the map. Rey rummaged through their belongings to find bits of equipment to weigh down the papers—rope, sacks of cloth, canisters, empty lamps, hooks, carabiners, flippers, a sack of fish hooks. She’d been employed before on expeditions ships but never really for what she could figure out. She’d only been valued for her diving experience. It was...nice to be included in the planning part of the expedition for once. It was fun to figure out which drawings belonged where.

“What’s this?” A drawing had fluttered down from her pile. Scrawled on the back were neat, block letters—so strikingly different from Padme’s handwriting. It was signed A N I.

“A letter.” Ben picked up the drawing with an odd sort of reverence. “Padme’s Whill Journal contains much of her correspondence. She had friends everywhere—a Mandalorian Grand Duchess, an American adventuress, a Hoth polar explorer, a Marshal college archaeologist.”

“Was this letter from another mapmaker?”

“Just a friend,” Ben said, but his eyes seemed soft and sad.

They were quiet once more as they continued working. Ben was a little like Padme’s journal, Rey decided. A hard, tough exterior concealing thousands of stories twisted together in beautiful letters and drawings showing tantalizing glimpses of an exotic past.  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'll update the next chapter early if someone can guess whom I'm referring to with this line: 
> 
> "I sailed with .. a University College London student, a marine salvage scuba diver, a behavioral paleontologist from Isla Nublar."
> 
> I'm a sucker for Easter Eggs, hahahah.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “What’s what?” Rey asked, turning around. Skeletal branches extended their fingers over the water. Leaves dripped with rain. Darkness. There was nothing in the gloom. Then lightning flashed again and Rey saw a baby tied to a branch staring back at her. She screamed, jumping away from the Angel’s railing.
> 
> She bumped into Ben who hauled her back with an arm across her middle. “Hey, hey, it’s okay.”
> 
> “Are you insane?” Rey yelled. She shoved him so they could move further away but he didn’t budge an inch. “There’s a baby tied to a tree!”
> 
> “I don’t think it’s a baby.” Ben let go. Rey restrained herself from hovering too close to him as he retrieved their waterproof torch from inside the small cabin and flicked the light on. The small beam cut through the gloom and illuminated the ghastly figure they’d seen earlier. He was right. It wasn’t a baby. It was a doll with missing limbs and half-rotting clothes. Ben whistled, “What the actual fuck.”

The next day dawned pink and golden over the archipelago. Between bites of cheese and bread, Ben explained their headings to her with his yellow tablet and Padme’s journal open between them. Rey couldn’t help but stare at the elegant slope of letters marching across the page, the tiny drawings gracing the margins, the rough but accurate maps of their surrounding area. It looked nothing like the clumsy drawings she’d attempted when she was younger.

“Do you want to read the journal?” Ben’s head tilted to one side as he stared at her. He’d stopped eating, long pale fingers holding a neat sandwich he’d insisted on making using a pocketknife San Tekka had given him. That had been another surprise for Rey as well. Ben had proper manners like a fancy gentleman in San Tekka’s books. He sliced bread, cheese, and fruit with a pocket knife; he laid out the food on a cleaned sailcloth scrap; he took calm, even bites of his food; he even cut out another square of sailcloth to use as napkins. Even Poe didn’t eat like that. Who had taught him those manners? Why would he need them?

“No.” Mouth dry, Rey shook her head. She swallowed the last of the bread and brushed the crumbs off her hands and into the water. “You write the same way as her.”

Ben’s gaze flicked between his own writing and Padme’s. She could tell she’d made him uncomfortable by the way his jaw tightened, but Rey didn’t understand why. “Calligraphy. I took a class in university.”

“What was that like?” At the confused quirk in Ben’s brow, she added, “University. Studying. History and, uh, Litr—Litera—”

“Literature and Comparative Cultures.” Ben leaned forward, ducking his face from view. “Fine, I suppose, if you don’t mind studying something useless.”

“How can it be useless?” His casual dismissal stung.  She couldn’t even explain it. It wasn’t as if Rey had a degree in History or Literature.  “You can’t tell me that your History degree didn’t help figuring out Vader’s story.”

“Maybe,” Ben conceded, before adding with a trace of humor, “My Lit focus was Poetry. _Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day_ and all that.”

“Shall you what?”

“You don’t know Shakesp—um, it’s a special kind of poem that a lot of people have heard about.” At Rey’s expectant look, he recited the entire poem from beginning to end. He trailed off in awkward silence as Rey continued to stare at him, his ear tips turning red. “I told you it was stupid.”

“It sounds beautiful,” Rey breathed, closing her eyes. “Do people really talk like that?”

“No, it’s, uh—the poet Shakespeare wanted the words to sound a certain way. So he says things in a roundabout way to convey his meaning.”

“What did he mean?”

“In a nutshell? That he thought his subject was more beautiful than a summer’s day because nature can be fickle. As long as this poem lived on, so too would the subject’s beauty.”

Rey thought about that—about someone more beautiful than a perfect summer’s day, about loving someone so much you’d want them to live forever, even if it was in a poem. She hadn’t known people could be that beautiful or be that loved. “Poetry doesn’t sound stupid at all.”

* * *

 

Clouds started rolling in late that afternoon. The air felt sticky and the breeze slowed.  The Rishi Corridor’s sandbars and coral reef were replaced with a maze of islets and atolls that required a constant hand on the wheel.

Rey hadn’t dared take more than a few minutes’ break the whole day. She’d asked Ben more than once if he was certain they were headed in the right direction. Ben had been certain. By the time the sun sank into the horizon, Rey was steering them as fast as she could to the nearest island with a sheltered cove.

“Are we stopping already?” Ben called back. He was sitting by the bow keeping an eye out. “We still have a few hours of sunlight left.”

“Something’s not right,” Rey shouted. A warning bell clanged in her mind. There was danger here in the water and they needed to get to safety now. Half an hour passed, but still she couldn’t find an island with a suitable anchorage.

“Is it a X’us’R’iia?” Ben asked her after another half hour of looking. Clouds had filled the sky and blocked the dying sun completely. An early, hushed gloom had fallen over the waters. When Rey shook her head, he continued, “You sure you don’t want to cast anchor at this atoll?”

“It’s not safe,” Rey repeated. The incoming storm wasn’t a X’us’R’iia, but that didn’t mean it wasn’t dangerous. She meant it when she told Ben she wasn’t going to sail them in any sort of storm. All it took was bad luck and a rough wave for the _Angel_ to be dashed against unforgiving rocks. Another half hour passed and rain had begun to fall in sheets. Rey had Ben angle the headsail to make use of the rain to give them a little bit more speed.

“There!” Ben pointed to a dark shape to their left. Swiping moisture from her lashes, Rey peered through the gloom. It was an islet filled with dense vegetation and tall mangrove trees swaying in the rain. There was neither a cove nor a beach that Rey could see anywhere. Lightning cracked through the sky. Rey knew they were out of time.

As carefully and quickly as she could, Rey guided the _Angel_ in a channel between mangroves. The tops of their branches brushed against the boat. While Ben tossed the anchor down, Rey furled the sails. Rain poured from the sky and made the gear slick.

“What else should I do?” Ben asked, stomping closer to her. His inky dark hair was plastered against his face and water sluiced down his broad form. Underneath, the _Angel_ creaked and moved a few feet to starboard as the wind changed direction. Lightning flashed. Ben tilted his head. His brows furrowed. “What’s that?”

“What’s what?” Rey asked, turning around. Skeletal branches extended their fingers over the water. Leaves dripped with rain. Darkness. There was nothing in the gloom. Then lightning flashed again and Rey saw a baby tied to a branch staring back at her. She screamed, jumping away from the _Angel’s_ railing.

She bumped into Ben who hauled her back with an arm across her middle. “Hey, hey, it’s okay.”

“Are you insane?” Rey yelled. She shoved him so they could move further away but he didn’t budge an inch. “There’s a baby tied to a tree!”

“I don’t think it’s a baby.” Ben let go. Rey restrained herself from hovering too close to him as he retrieved their waterproof torch from inside the small cabin and flicked the light on. The small beam cut through the gloom and illuminated the ghastly figure they’d seen earlier. He was right. It wasn’t a baby. It was a doll with missing limbs and half-rotting clothes. Ben whistled, “What the actual fuck.”

“This island is cursed,” Rey moaned. As if to mock her, lightning flashed once more and thunder rumbled. The wind didn’t pick up but the rain continued to pour down in warm sheets. Rey couldn’t be more wet if she’d dived into the water. It would be disastrous to try to find shelter elsewhere. “I’ve heard stories about this place. The spirits of drowned orphans live here.”

Ben swung the torch to the other mangrove trees.  Torn limbs, heads with glassy eyes and bedraggled hair, babies, toddlers. Eerie facsimiles of children peered back at them from the trees. The constant rain gave a faint impression of movement that made the hair in the back of Rey’s neck stand on end. “Somebody probably thought it was funny to scare travelers.”

“It doesn’t look funny to me.” Rey shivered, “The _santeros_ say—”

“Are you hungry?” Ben turned back to her, his mouth set in a wry smile. “I’m starving.”

“No.” Hunger was the last thing in Rey’s mind. Not with those horrible dolls surrounding them on either side.

“Can I eat your share then?”

“No!” Rey scowled.

“I’m going to eat in the cabin.” Ben took a few steps before turning back to Rey. “You coming?”

“Are we really going to spend the night here?”

“Do we have any other choice?” At Rey’s unhappy look, he added, “We can’t move until the storm passes. The anchor is keeping us steady. There’s really nothing else for us to do. Unless you think it’s safe for us to move out. Can we do that?”

Rey forced herself to think calmly and logically. She reminded herself of San Tekka and the _BB8_ . She reminded herself of her family. She let out a slow breath. Thunder rumbled overhead. The _Angel_ bobbed up and down. It was safe. Their boat was safe from the storm hidden among the mangroves, however cursed they might be.

“We’re fine,” she said finally.

“Come on.” Ben opened the cabin door and ushered her inside. The _Angel_ ’s cabin was cramped with a triangular bunk crammed against her bow. What little space remained was filled with additional lockers and cabinets and a desk. A tiny hot plate was bolted to the surface of the desk.

The door closed with a quiet thump. There was no light inside the cabin save for the illumination from the torch in Ben’s hand. In the quiet, enclosed space, a tension filled the air distinct from Rey’s fears about the dolls. She was suddenly aware of the heat radiating from Ben, of the scant inches separating them from one another, of his even breaths.

Biting her lip, Rey retrieved the towels from the bottom locker, handed one to Ben, and shuffled forward until her knees bumped against the bunk. It was ridiculous to feel awkward, she told herself. They’d been close to each other before, of course, but somehow, it felt different when Rey didn’t have the option of scooting a couple of feet away. Her heart was beating a quick tempo as she dried her hair and toweled off.

She glanced at Ben as he used the towel to wipe the excess moisture from his body. He looked even more enormous in the _Angel’s_ cabin. His head brushed the top of the ceiling and his solid mass filled the doorway. His eyes caught hers and Rey blushed, looking away.

“Hungry?”

“Sure,” Rey hedged. She gestured vaguely to the locker next to Ben. “Um, I’ll need to fish in a day, though.”

“Not a problem.” Rey backed against the wall as he laid out the remaining bread and cheese between them. With deft fingers, he cut them both his even, precise sandwiches and laid them on his makeshift sailcloth placemat. “We can stop by Bespin if we need to. I got money from…”

From the Hutt gangsters, Rey thought, and flicked a glance at him. But Ben didn’t finish. She accepted a sandwich and they ate in silence.

A little while later, Rey stretched out in the bunk. She was on her side facing away from Ben. The bunk was wide enough that they had a bit of space between them. But it didn’t seem to matter. She could feel his heat soaking into her skin at this distance and it was distracting. The night before, she’d insisted on sleeping on the bench with some blankets under the open sky. It wasn’t a bad way to sleep; she’d slept in worse conditions before. But that was definitely not an option with the rain and those dolls waiting outside.

As if on cue, lightning flashed. Through the porthole, Rey glimpsed a branch extending to the _Angel_ with a doll face missing an eye. The eye seemed to be staring right at her. Rey caught her gasp, turned it into a hiccup, and clapped a hand over her mouth. She was not going to scream; she was not going to scream.

“What is it?” The mattress dipped as Ben rolled over. He sat up a little and the thin blanket fell to his waist.

“Nothing,” Rey muttered, forcing herself to breathe in through her nose and out through her mouth. Lightning flashed again and cast garish shadows in the cabin. But in that blinding split-second of illumination, she also caught the expression on Ben’s face as he gazed at her. Was that compassion?

“I’ve been thinking. It’d be helpful for you to learn more about the cartographer.”

“What about her?”

“Padme wasn’t just a sailor and a cartographer. She was a world traveler in an era when women were barely beginning to be accepted in the workplace. She was raised as a diplomat’s daughter and educated in Europe and the Middle East. Her mentor was Gertrude Bell, a famous explorer herself, and her peer was Amelia Earhart. When Padme was very young, she and her sister would visit famous historical sites all over the world, wherever their father was posted. They visited the Kodai-Ji Temple—”

“What’s that?”

Ben settled back into the bed. They were facing each other now, though Rey could see very little of him in the near complete darkness. But somehow, the darkness was soothing rather than terrible. It felt like they were in a safe, hidden spot away from the world. She could almost forget the horrible dolls outside or the Hutts chasing after them.

“The Kodai-Ji is a Zen Buddhist temple in Japan.” Ben’s voice was quiet, but it rose and fell with a low-burning intensity that Rey couldn’t help but feel as much as the bumpy mattress beneath her or the humidity in the air. “It was built by Nene, samurai wife of Toyotomi Hideyoshi—one of the great unifiers of the country. He named her Angel of Light. When he died, she built one of most beautiful gardens in the country in memory of him.”  When Rey asked him about the samurai, Ben told her about the temples in Japan, about the prominent samurai families, about the great wars to make Japan one country, about how much Nene meant to her husband. Unlike San Tekka, Ben answered her every question without ever losing focus. He was so patient and so intelligent that Rey had to carefully pick the questions pouring from her mind. It was like having a scientist from one of the expedition ships all to herself.

She pictured trees with pink blossoms against a backdrop of red and green mountains. Rey whispered, “I’d like to see that.”

“Padme describes her journeys in great detail. You should read her entries if only to double-check if she’d hidden any clues about the Trail of Stars.” At Rey’s silence, Ben asked in a gentle voice, “Can you read?”

“Ye-es.” Familiar shame and hurt made her clench her teeth. San Tekka taught her, but Unkar never liked any of his scavengers reading. He’d said that if they were reading, then they had too much free time. “I just… I never had much practice. I’d be really slow so it’d be a waste—”

“If you’re teaching me how to sail, then the least I can do is help you practice.”

“I’m not gonna be any good at it. I’m not educated like you.”

“You’re smart.” At Rey’s scoff, he continued, “I mean it. No fool can survive in the Jakku Archipelago for long.” That was true enough. But Ben must have sensed her skepticism because he added, “We’ll use Padme’s journals. You’d like it. She went everywhere—Egypt, England, Russia, Mexico, Argentina, Cuba, Morocco. It’d be like you traveled with her.”

* * *

 

The storm passed early the next morning. Soft sunlight poured between the twisted branches and cast uneven shadows against the waves. With Ben’s help, they set sail as soon as sunlight broke through. Rey didn’t want to stay a second longer on the island and she suspected Ben felt the same way. The soft morning light revealed hundreds more dolls strung throughout the mangrove trees and deeper into the atoll. Their lank hair and grey-green rotting clothes dripped with rainwater and their eyes stared blankly as the _Angel_ moved slowly out into the open sea.

It wasn’t until they paused for lunch hours away that Ben asked, “What’s the story behind the island?”

Rey shivered. She didn’t feel much like answering, but Ben kept staring at her, waiting for her response. His expression was so calm and reasonable, without fear. Despite herself, she began to feel a slow trickle of calm.

“Unkar called it the Orphanage,” Rey said after a while. She set her ration bar down. Her voice trembled a little as she said, “People make pilgrimages to the island and tie a doll to the trees for every kid lost out at sea. Like a shrine. But Unkar always told us it was the final resting place for unwanted children.” Goosebumps erupted along her arms. Unkar had also told her that it was where she’d end up if she didn’t work hard enough. He’d terrorized Rey, Teedo, Devi, and Davjan with it when they were little.

“Unkar is full of shit,” Ben said. His abrupt response made Rey laugh a little and she did feel better sitting in the _Angel_ ’s deck with hot, golden sunlight pouring down on her. Nothing had happened to them. The island of the dolls seemed more like a bad dream than a memory. “Do you want to try reading Padme’s journal?”

“Now?”

“Only a little bit,” Ben shrugged. He settled beside her, his warmth strange and alarming and familiar all at once. “Just try.”

Palms sweaty, Rey took the book and promptly dropped it. Cursing, she snatched it up and wiped dust away from the back cover. She mumbled underneath her breath, “Why is this so heavy? It can’t just be from the paper.”

“Whill Journals have over 1000 pages,” he shrugged. “Also, I’m pretty sure the leather covers have a metal plate inserted to make sure they don’t bend. They’re made to last.”

“I could drop this on somebody and kill them.”

“Are you stalling?”

“No!” Rey said, cheeks pinking. Perhaps a little. So she took a deep breath, laid the book across her lap and began reading aloud.

* * *

 

_March 1933_

_I found the island at the far eastern edge of the archipelago near the Bespin Cloud Markets exactly where Ani said it’d be. It’s rough going and I’d never have been able to make it if he hadn’t been with me. That’s three times he’s saved my life now and he’s only fifteen. I told him that he could have the honor of naming this new set of islands. He said he wanted to call it the TRAIL OF STARS._

* * *

The wind was a gentle breeze that made the _Angel_ move at a slow pace. Ben, however, still managed to fall off.  Though, Rey guiltily admitted, that had been partially her fault. He had been walking along the railing, stretching, and Rey had been staring at him rather than paying attention to where they were going. Ben had shed his shirt sometime during the day and hadn’t put it back on yet. His skin was pale in the sunlight. He was the tallest and biggest man she’d ever seen, thick all around, but none of it was added weight. He was muscle and bone with hollowed cheeks and dark eyes.

He looked intimidating at the very least. The kind of person people gave a wide berth to in Niima. But something about him drew the eye and it wasn’t just fear. The more Rey looked, the more she couldn’t puzzle out what it was. Ben wasn’t handsome like Poe, nor did he have Finn’s warmth and steadiness that drew people in like moths to a flame. If anything, he seemed quite the opposite—wild, roiling energy like storm clouds in the horizon.

“Rock!” Ben said abruptly.

Rey spun the wheel, the boom swung and knocked Ben into the water.

“My fault! Sorry!”

Ben glowered up at her. He knew how to swim well enough, but he was turtle-slow compared to anyone who lived in the islands. His long limbs splashed more water than necessary and it was obvious he was uncomfortable in the water. It reminded Rey of a large cat accidentally slipping into the water.

“Here, let me—” Tilting her head, she stared at the rock Ben spotted in the afternoon light. “Ben, do you see that?”

“Is it a shark?” There was only one word to describe the emotion in Ben’s voice: fear. And that, combined with the way he turned around frantically in the water, made Rey laugh.

“Don’t be so dramatic.” She cast anchor and walked to the deck.

“Rey—”

She shed her shirt and dove into the water. In the cobalt depths of the ocean, Rey saw that the rock wasn’t a rock at all. She surfaced just as four more colossal shapes slid underneath them. “Whales. A family of whales.”

“Shouldn’t we be getting back to the _Angel_ ?” asked Ben just as a gray, slicked shape surfaced a hundred meters away with a mighty exhalation of breath that shot water straight into the air. All color dropped from Ben’s face as two, then three, then four more whales surrounded the _Angel_. “Is this, uh, normal behavior?”

“They’re just curious, is all,” said Rey. “Take a deep breath.” She took Ben’s hand, squeezed it and sank. A few meters deep, the surf and spray of the ocean went glassy calm. Humpback whales glided past, gigantic and graceful, their enormous bodies dappled by sunlight slanting from the surface. One came an arm’s length away, its large eye curious and watchful. Rey grinned, extending her hand to touch the slippery smooth surface. It was as if permission had been given.

The entire pod drifted closer, always careful not to whack them with their fins or tail, but letting Rey touch their sides. Rey turned to look at Ben, gesturing to animals. His eyes were tight with nervousness, but also, Rey thought, with wonder and awe. She tugged on their joined hands, guiding him until his palm flattened on a male swimming past. A smile tugged at the corner of his lips.

A trill shattered the silence of the deep followed by a groan. The water came alive as the whales sang to each other, haunting and otherworldly. It was so loud, but Rey didn’t feel like she heard it with her ears; she felt it in her chest. Joy unfurled bone deep in Rey and when she looked at Ben, she knew he felt it too.

* * *

 

They dropped anchor just offshore of Bespin the next day. Ben didn’t think it was a good idea to be seen, but Rey pointed out they needed to get as close as possible for the bearings to be accurate. Tomorrow, they’d set out for the first island.

“Padme sounds so brave,” Rey said sometime after sunset. “Traveling all over the world by herself even when everybody told her it was a bad idea.”

“Not so brave if that’s all you know.” Ben sat across from her instead of beside her. She tried not to miss his warmth against her side. The ever-present fog around Bespin made the night chilly around the island. “I’d spent more time in foreign countries than America by the time I was ten.”

“Han took you smuggling?”

“Sometimes.” Ben let out a short bark of laughter. She liked his laugh—its warmth and dark humor. A weight seemed to be lifting from his shoulders and he was much less guarded and tense. “But my mom put a stop to that when she found out. She kept me close to her whenever she traveled.”

“What did your mom do?”

“She was a diplomat,” Ben said after a short pause. He always grew silent when his family came up. Rey tried not to pry, but she was just so curious about him.

“What’s she like?”

“Scary.”

Rey laughed.

“I mean it. She’s small, but she never seems that way. My mother is larger than life. She’s dedicated her whole life to democracy and nothing gets in her way.” There was a slight hint of bitterness there, one that Rey wouldn’t have noticed if she hadn’t spent the last few days in close proximity with him. “She’s smart, stubborn and brave. She doesn’t suffer fools, which is why it always amazed me that she married my father.”

“Your father isn’t a fool.”

“You only know him from stories. The kinds of scrapes he got into and how he actually got out of them are not romantic.”

“But your mom loved him?”

“Yes. They weren’t…they weren’t good together, but yes, they loved each other.” Silence once again. He seemed to be wrestling with himself before he finally whispered, “Look, I know how their story sounds to people. But I knew them. Even now, I just can’t help but think he wasn’t suited for her. She could have married princes or politicians. Someone rich and powerful who could… well, she chose a smuggler instead. A nobody.”

A cold feeling welled up in Rey’s chest that had nothing to do with the light rain that began to fall. Ben tugged the journal from her fingers and Rey had to force herself not to grab it back.

Ben hovered by the door to the lone sleeping berth while Rey shook out her blanket. “Rey, do you want to—”

“I’m fine.” Rey snapped the blanket out.  “I’m used to this weather.”

“If you get sick, we’ll be dead in the water.” As if to emphasize his point, thunder cracked across the sky. There was no way Rey was going to be able to sleep outside. Still, Rey hesitated. “Just sleep on the bed. I didn’t touch you before; I wouldn’t touch you now.”

Rey narrowed her eyes at that and she stomped into the cabin. Ben shut the door behind her just as the rain began to patter hard across the roof. She could hear Ben breathing beside her, feel his fingers twitch, smell his wood smoke and ozone scent. Very little light spilled in from the windows.

She clambered on to the bed and pulled her blanket over her. In the darkness, she felt Ben climb in after her, slow and purposeful, and she shivered. A strange feeling curled low in her belly and made her breath come faster.

Ben curled on his side, back toward her, and he breathed even and deep. Rey glanced at him in the dark, wanting the warmth and comfort they had shared while she read Padme’s journals aloud. But his words kept echoing in her mind.

_She could have married princes or politicians if she wanted, but she chose a smuggler instead. A nobody._

It was a long time before she fell asleep.

* * *

 

Ben charted a course that took them through a maze of jagged islands beyond Bespin’s reaches. She stared with anxious eyes at the rocks that jutted up from the waters like teeth and gripped the _Azure Angel_ ’s wheel. It was slow going. The rain had let up by morning, but the fog hadn’t. Rey had to be careful navigating through the waters, while Ben took measurements using the sextant and chronometer every thirty minutes. A certain stiffness had sprung up between them and Rey wasn’t sure what to do with it.

“Are you sure we’re on the right track?” Rey asked when the morning bled into the afternoon. They’d narrowly avoided another wave-lashed rocky pillar. The fog was so thick she could barely see fifty feet ahead of them.

“Yes.” Irritation and tension laced the word and Rey tried not to take offense. “It should be dead ahead.”

Rey wished she could feel so confident. They’d passed over a dozen tiny islands already and a part of Rey wondered if one of those had been the right island. How would they be able to tell anyway? Padme and Ani named the first island Stairway to the Stars _,_ but it wasn’t as if any of these islands had signs on them. They sailed for more than an hour until Rey’s belly growled low. Their noon break seemed far away, and Ben asked her if she wanted to take a quick break while he took a turn on the helm.

“I’ll eat when we get there.” Visibility was so poor that Rey really didn’t trust Ben to steer the little sailboat. The fog distorted shapes and threw back sounds in odd ways. Sometimes waves crashing against the shore would seem so far away, and ten minutes later the _Angel’s_ hull would be crunching on sand. Other times their voices echoed back at them and it seemed like she heard the creak of another hull not too far away. A creeping sensation like she was being watched prickled at the back of her neck.

Ben spotted the island first. The fog had finally parted around sunset. She could see a small island with two steep, rocky hills with patches of grass. The beaches were covered in grey flat stones and Rey winced at the thought of beaching the _Angel_ there. They would need to anchor her in the water if they didn’t want to damage her hull.

“How do you know it’s the right one?”

Ben gave her a sour look.

“I’m just saying,” Rey said, once she’d cast anchor. She rolled up the sails. “It doesn’t look any different from the other islands we’ve passed. How do we know it’s the Stairway to the Stars?”

“The bearings are precise,” Ben said, trying to sound businesslike and failing. “Anyway, there’s a hill so…”

“Okay.” Rey bit her tongue, very carefully not mentioning that the other islands had hills too. “So, we apply the next set of bearings to this island?”

“Yes.”

“Just like that?”

“What else is there, Rey? Do you want me to walk you through my calculations? Unless you’ve got a GPS in your pocket, I’m doing the best I can.”

“I’m going ashore.” Rey began stuffing a canvas bag with her blanket, water bottle and a few apples. She sheathed her knife in her belt, along with some rope, thinking that she may as well get coconuts from the island to replenish their water supplies.

“Why?” Ben seemed to snap out of his grumpy mood, following her movements. “It’s dangerous.”

Maybe. But Rey was in more danger of snapping at Ben if he kept up his attitude. Shrugging, Rey took off her dress and leapt over the side of the boat. Unlike Niima, the waters around Bespin were cool and clear. Paddling, her foot skimmed the bottom of the rocky shore. She lapped the boat a few times to burn off the excess energy, feeling the prickle of Ben’s gaze against her skin all the while. When she finally surfaced, her mood had lifted.

“Throw my bag over to me!” she commanded, brushing the water from her eyes.

His gaze felt like a warm, weighty thing pressing against her shoulders. She returned it coolly. Shaking his head, Ben tossed the bag to her. Rey caught it and started paddling to shore, keeping it over her head.

By the time the sun had set, Rey had set up a neat little campfire, cracked open two coconuts, drunk the sweet waters and eaten the fleshy pulp, and supplemented her dinner with fish she’d been able to spear while puttering around the beach. The rocky shore was uncomfortable, at best, but it beat staying on the _Azure Angel_ while Ben paced like a caged hunting cat.

She was just enjoying her second fish when Ben appeared on the shore. He was bare chested, hair soaked, but he carried his backpack with him as well. The few days’ rest had done Ben a world of good. His bruises had begun to fade and he’d lost some of the gauntness in his frame. The fading sunlight gilded every dip and curve of his muscles.

Rey bit her lip as he approached, unable to help the fluttering in her chest at the sight of him. “It’s not good to be on a boat all the time.”

“Yeah, yeah.” He rolled his eyes. But he laid the sleeping bag on the ground so they could both sit on it and Rey offered him some of her catch.

The scent of cooking fish filled the air. Between the fire and Ben, Rey began to feel comfortable and sleepy. It’d been a long day on the wheel.

“Ben?” At his grunt, she asked, “What does Padme’s journal say about the Stairway to the Stars? Why’d she name it that?”

“Do you wanna read the journal?”

“Can you read it to me?”

Ben withdrew the journal from his backpack. The fire crackled as he flipped the pages.

* * *

 

_April 1933,_

_I’d almost given up, but Ani wouldn’t let me. He was dead certain that we were in the right area and the right island. He was right. I don’t know how he knew, but Ani was right. We found it on our last day. I was exhausted from sailing and our supplies were almost out. To be honest, I collapsed on my bedroll as soon as we made it to shore. Ani woke me hours later. He was smiling and it was the most beautiful thing I’d seen in days. He pulled me along and pointed to the hills. There it was—stairs that lead you out into the galaxy._

_Beautiful can hardly encompass what it looked like. Looking at that sight felt like a universe being born inside my chest. I sat there for hours with tears in my eyes and Ani’s hand in mine. I knew then that I wouldn’t share this discovery with anyone else. This was something beautiful just for us. For the first time since Mother died, I felt light. At peace. I’m going back to America tomorrow and I’m taking him with me._

* * *

 

“She took Ani with her?” Rey asked. A curious feeling settled in her chest—aching from the beauty and wistfulness of it all. She felt a strange empathy for the fifteen year old Ani. He’d been an orphan just like her, and a stranger had come and turned his world upside down.

“I’ll let you read it yourself.” Ben reached out to tuck a strand of hair away from her face. His expression was soft again—soft and troubled and sad. She wondered if he felt the same way she did upon reading Padme’s journals.

“I want to see it,” she said, standing up. “I want to see the stairway leading out into the galaxy.”

“All right.” He set aside the coconut he’d been drinking from and stood up, stretching. Rey’s eyes drifted across the bare expanse of smooth skin before her. “Rey?”

Rey’s eyes snapped up to meet his, blushing. “Ready!”

Their flip-flops crunched over the rocky shore as they made their way around the island. Quickly, Rey realized how frustrating it must have been for Padme and Anakin to search for this elusive stairway. Ben and Rey circled each hill several times to see if it aligned with the night sky. It didn’t. The sky just looked like a regular, starry-strewn sky. But even that wasn’t guaranteed. Clouds would roll over the sky and obscure the moon. Frustration mounted as time passed.

“We need to go to bed.”

“No,” Rey stomped ahead of him. “How will we know for sure this is the right island if we can’t find those stupid stairs?”

“Rey, you do realize that it’s not the right time of year?”

“What does that have to do with anything?”

“Whatever they saw, it might only happen at a very specific time of year - maybe not even every year. Besides, the fog is starting to roll in again. We probably won’t see the sky in a few hours.”

“But—” Rey cut herself off. She’d been about to say, “That’s not fair.” But that wasn’t right. When did fair ever have to do with anything? It wasn’t fair that her parents had dumped her on Plutt. It wasn’t fair that her foster father turned out to be a monster like Plutt. It wasn’t fair that Ben’s father died. It wasn’t fair that Padme’s charts had been used by a Nazi. “Yeah, I guess.”

“All right.” Ben faced her, expression serious. “Wandering around the island in the dark until we’re asleep on our feet isn’t going to help. Judging from the height of these hills, there are really only half a dozen places that the stairs will be visible. I say we take turns. While one of us sleeps, the other walks this path to see if the stairs are there. We call it quits when the fog rolls in or after four hours. Deal?”

“Okay,” Rey nodded, grinning ear to ear. She didn’t know why it was so important to her to find the stairs. More than just confirmation of Padme’s bearings, Rey just wanted to see that beauty for herself—to know what a universe being born inside her chest would feel like.

Ben took the first watch. Rey curled up on the sleeping bag, watching the fire crackle, determined not to fall asleep. She’d done it before—gone more than a day without sleep. She could it do now if there were a chance she could see a stairway into the stars. But she must have underestimated the toll the past few days had taken on her. She blinked and was fast asleep.

A hand shook her shoulder. Rey gasped, scrambling away from the bedroll. Sharp rocks bit her palms and her breath came in shuddering gasps. She didn’t know where she was.

“It’s me,” Ben whispered.

“Oh,” Rey said, rubbing the sleep from her eyes. It felt like she’d slept for more than an hour. In fact, Rey realized as she glanced at the fire’s dying embers, she probably had. “Why didn’t you wake me?”

“I tried. You sleep like a rock.” At Rey’s glare, he threw his head back and laughed. His laughter did more to soothe Rey’s irritation than she wanted to let on. “Wanna see something beautiful?”

“You found it.”

“Come on.” His smile was beautiful in the moonlight. “But you have to close your eyes.”

“What?”

“Just do it,” he commanded, voice low. Maybe it was the night sky, maybe it was his expression, but Rey found herself willingly closing her eyes. Ben guided her by the shoulders up a few steps before whispering in her ear, “Here.”

A thick band of stars snaked across the sky and seemed to descend on to the head of a pass between the two hills. The starlight was so bright that it picked out rocks that seemed to form a stairway leading up to the top of the pass. The night sky was pristine with no cloud in sight. She didn’t think she’d seen so many stars in her life. Tears spilled down Rey’s cheeks.

Ben pointed out Polaris, the one true constant in the shifting night sky, and how he’d been able to figure out where the vantage point was to see the stairs using what he knew from Padme’s journal. He whispered the names of constellations and promised to tell her their stories. He explained how the band of stars was the Milky Way’s arm.

_Padme stood right here,_ Rey thought, _looking up at this same sky_. She could almost see it--a nineteen year old adventurer, hair mussed and clothes wrinkled, gazing at this wonder. She understood why Padme didn’t want to share it with anyone else. This place was meant for Padme and Ani and now Ben and Rey. Maybe it was because of the stars, maybe because of Padme’s journals, but Rey reached out and took Ben’s hand.

“She was right,” Rey whispered. “It does feel like a universe being born inside your chest.”

“Beautiful,” Ben agreed, looking down at her.

  



	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He was beautiful. Beautiful in the directness of his gaze, the contrast of his features, the quickness of his mind, the strength and grace of his limbs. So beautiful, despite all his secrets.
> 
> The realization smashed against her like a wave and it caused a tightness in her chest. Because he was beautiful and intelligent and worldly. And she was nobody.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As a reminder, my offer to update a chapter early if someone can guess the characters referenced in this line still remains:
> 
> "I sailed with .. a University College London student, a marine salvage scuba diver, a behavioral paleontologist from Isla Nublar."
> 
> Whitedogcollection has correctly identified the behavioral paleontologist as Owen Grady from Jurassic World! As a hint to the others, they were referenced in Chapter One and they also belong in other famous non-Star Wars franchises.

Rey sometimes dreamed about what it would be like to be reunited with her family. She didn’t have specific images in mind; she just knew what it would feel like. Warm. Safe.  Bright. Like swimming in sunlight.

 

Waking up in Ben Solo’s arms felt like that. When she opened her eyes, it didn’t matter that she was sleeping on a rocky beach or that mist had covered every exposed inch of skin in a layer of moisture. It was the most comfortable she’d ever been.

 

He looked so much younger asleep. The furrow in his brow was smooth, and his lashes were dark against his pale skin. His full lips were parted as he breathed and Rey watched his chest rise and fall. Even under his shirt, she could feel every inch of muscle she’d seen but never really allowed herself to look at.

 

He was beautiful. Beautiful in the directness of his gaze, the contrast of his features, the quickness of his mind, the strength and grace of his limbs. So beautiful, despite all his secrets.

 

The realization smashed against her like a wave and it caused a tightness in her chest. Because he was beautiful and intelligent and worldly. And she was nobody.

 

She sat up, trying to keep from hyperventilating. What was she doing? Of all the idiotic things she’d done the past few days, this was the most dangerous. She tossed the blanket off, eyes searching the cool waters still shrouded in a thick mist. Shivering, she stood up and unbuttoned her shirt, terrified of the comfort she found in Ben’s arms.

 

“Rey?”

 

Even his voice was beautiful. She didn’t dare glance back at him. Instead, she said, “Just off for a swim before we head out.”

 

Being underwater helped block out the roaring in her ears. She cut through the gentle waters, focusing on regulating her breath, her heartbeat. Once she felt her body relax, she dove until the pressure to rise was replaced with a sense of weightlessness. At this depth, she wasn’t sinking or rising; she was floating, suspended in blue, safe.

 

Images and emotions rose and fell in her mind. Ben’s face. A stairway of grass, coral and stars. Her mother’s touch. Hunger from going too long without proper food. Vader’s treasure map. Wonder at seeing a whale pod breach the surface, their hums and groans rattling deep in her bones even a hundred yards away. Unkar’s poison laugh. A temple surrounded by pink flowering trees so that a widow could remember her husband.

 

The water always had a way of cutting out the noise. Nothing real had changed. Her feelings didn’t matter. Ben Solo was still a dangerous man with secrets. She was still Rey, a nobody. If she wanted to find her family and avenge San Tekka, she couldn’t run away from Ben. He was her path back to her family. He was her way of laying San Tekka to rest. Her attraction was unimportant. Just a thing to be borne like hunger or fever.

 

When she waded back ashore, Ben had restarted the fire. His face was impassive as she handed him some fish she’d caught. She took out a towel and rubbed herself dry. “We’re running low on rations.”

 

Ben frowned but skinned and gutted her catch. He was quiet this morning and Rey was nervous. Paranoid that just by looking at her, he’d know and decide it was too horribly embarrassing to keep her despite needing her. So she kept up a steady stream of chatter while she whittled the skewers and the fish cooked over the fire—the rock formations she’d spotted in the water, the school of shrimp darting past, the fog lifting a hundred yards out, the tiger shark circling the reef.

 

“There’s a shark out there?” Ben nearly dropped the fish into the sand. His face was alarmed—more alarmed than when they’d heard the Hutts knock on San Tekka’s door.

 

“Yes.” Rey frowned. “There a problem?”

 

“How big was it? A baby one?”

 

“Yeah. Probably ten feet?”

 

“Oh,” Ben relaxed slightly and resumed eating. “That’s not too bad.”

 

“The mother was probably seventeen feet, though.”

 

Ben choked on his food. Rey hid her grin by biting into her fish.

 

“Are you teasing me?” Ben asked with narrowed eyes.

 

“Never.”

 

By the time they packed their belongings, the sun had begun to burn away the fog. The _Azure Angel_ bobbed up and down on the waves, looking particularly forlorn in the morning sunlight. Rey waded into the water, canvas bag slung over her torso, and glanced back to see Ben several feet behind her. “Missing something?”

 

“No.” But he still wouldn’t step into the water. “We should wait until the shark clears out.”

 

“It’s perfectly safe.” Lifting her brows, Rey added, “They have better prey unless you agitate them. Are you bleeding anywhere?”

 

“No! I just would feel better if we maybe waited until the apex predator moves on.”

 

“Ben Solo, university graduate, top notch Air Force pilot, are you terrified of sharks?”

 

“Who wouldn’t have the appropriate amount of caution when dealing with an animal over twice their size with teeth that can cut through human bone?” Ben looked sullen, like a child who’d been told to eat their vegetables. It was such an odd look on so intimidating a man that Rey struggled to keep from smiling. “Neither my degree nor my jet are going to do me much good in the water. Well, my jet might make a difference. What am I going to do with my degree? Slap the shark with it?”

 

“Come on.” Stifling her giggles, Rey tugged his hand and moved backward into the water. Reluctantly, he allowed himself to be lead forward, but his gaze darted around the water. “Hey. Eyes on me.”

 

His gaze snapped to her face. In any other circumstance, Ben’s stare was difficult to meet. His intelligence and intensity had its own physicality that Rey had never experienced with anyone else. But right now, his eyes were as wide as saucers and his face was turning green. “You have experience dealing with sharks?”

 

“What’s to know? You don’t bleed; you don’t thrash around; you keep away.”

 

“Rey, were you teasing me about the seventeen foot shark?”

 

“I promise I won’t let a shark eat you.”

 

“Rey!”

 

She turned and dived. After thirty seconds, Ben splashed into the water behind her. Grinning, she swam with lazy strokes, keeping pace with him. While he’d never be as fast or efficient a swimmer as she, his long limbs and powerful muscles made up for his inexperience.

 

They were within thirty feet of the _Angel_ when Rey spotted the dorsal fin. Curious, Rey submerged to get a clearer visual. The tiger shark she’d spotted earlier was heading toward the _Angel_.

 

She had been teasing Ben about the baby tiger shark. Mothers didn’t take care of their young as a general rule. She hadn’t been lying about the size of the shark, though. It was the biggest she’d seen yet—eighteen feet in length at least. The waters were so clear she could spot the distinctive spots against its gray skin. The creature swam lazily through the water, following no discernible pattern. It was late enough in the morning that Rey figured it’d probably fed well during dawn.

 

The splashes stopped. Ben had also seen the shark. When she glanced up, his eyes were absolutely enormous and his face was bleached of color. Rey felt an echoing frisson of fear down her spine.

 

This wasn’t the first time Rey had swum with sharks. She knew that tiger sharks really didn’t like eating humans. The creatures were smart enough to know that humans weren’t worth the effort. Most bites resulted from the shark mistaking the swimmer for a seal or a turtle. They were surprisingly mellow as long as one wasn’t stupid enough to aggravate or interact with them during their hunting season.

 

But as the creature approached, she couldn’t help the primal fear clambering in her blood to flee. It was a giant with sharp teeth that could crunch bone. There was no way they could outswim it.  The shore was too far and heading towards the _Angel_ would only take them closer to the shark. Instead, Rey took Ben’s hand and let herself sink a bit more into the water. Ben followed her.

 

Twenty feet, ten feet… Ben’s arm looped around her waist and held her close. Five feet. Three…the shark veered from its direct course toward them and brushed by. Rey watched it go by, muscles lax, but ready. It swam past ten, fifteen, twenty feet. Then the shark turned and began to circle. Ben’s fingers dug into her hips tightly.

 

The shark swam past them close enough that its wake buffeted their position. She turned to watch its progress. It turned and circled them more closely this time. Though her heart was drumming hard, Rey didn’t think the shark was hungry. Just curious. When it bumped up against her, Rey pushed it away, careful not to scrape her hand against its sandpaper skin. It did that twice more before drifting away.

 

Rey didn’t let herself relax until the creature disappeared into the distance. Only then did she allow them both to rise to the surface.

 

“That was incredible!” Rey gasped, spluttering. Ben was already pulling himself aboard the _Angel._ “Biggest I’ve seen yet!”

 

“Are you insane?” He threw the backpack into the seat. The wind blew brisk and strong, lifting tendrils of his dark hair from his face. _“_ Get out of the water! That thing could have eaten you! ”

 

Just to irritate him, she kept paddling the water instead of climbing up. “It didn’t want to.”

 

“Rey, I’m serious.” He held out his hand.

 

Rey took off her canvas bag and held it out to him, lifting her chin in defiance. She’d go back in the _Angel_ when she damn well pleased.

 

“It’s still dangerous.”

 

“Just because something is dangerous doesn’t mean I need to be afraid.”

 

He stopped at that, eyes narrowed. Water trickled from his locks and down his neck, dripped down his bare chest. Then he leaned over, grasped her wrist and hauled her bodily out of the water.

 

Rey squealed, splashing water absolutely everywhere as her feet made contact with the _Angel_. The wind made goosebumps rise across her flesh. Her canvas bag thumped on the wooden deck and she shoved Ben hard in the chest. “You cheat!”

 

Ben laughed, still holding on to her wrist. The sound settled like golden sunlight in her tummy. She was annoyed, dripping seawater on to the _Angel’s_ deck and cushions and he had the audacity to smile down at her, a dimple appearing in his left cheek. She absolutely refused to be charmed by that dimple and that smile and that laugh and the way his eyes crinkled with humor and—

 

A movement behind him caught her eye. A man emerged from the cabin holding a gun. The world slowed.

 

She shoved Ben. He hit the water with a splash just as a gunshot shattered the stillness of the islands. Sandpipers shrieked into the sky. Rey fell to the deck, warmth trickling down her shoulder. Her ears rang.

 

_I’ve been shot_ , Rey thought in disbelief, hand slapping over the wound. The man lifted his gun again and adrenaline made Rey scrambled for cover behind the wheel. A second shot boomed. It missed. She had no weapons save the knife at her belt. At close range the knife might make a difference. Even so, the man was keeping his distance. If she tried to get nearer, he’d have plenty of time to shoot her.

 

“Sorry about this,” the man said. His voice was pleasant—American but with a slight lilt that spoke of a Spanish background. He was tall, hair tucked under a beanie, and skin browned from the sun. His features were unremarkable. He could have been a sailor or a tourist except for the gun. “I’ve been waiting until you two were separated. But time is running out.”

 

He’d been watching them! Oh God, since when? The Hutts had caught up with them after all. Despite all their precautions! Ben was right. They shouldn’t have left the _Angel_. They were going to die because she’d insisted on seeing the stairway.

 

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Keep him talking. If he was talking, then he wasn’t shooting. Her mind raced to come up with a solution.  “You’ve got the wrong people. We’re divers. Oyster divers.”

 

“Is that what he told you?” he chuckled. The _Angel_ creaked as he began walking towards her. “Fly boy’s got a nice bounty on his head. Some very dangerous people want to ask him some questions. The First—”

 

There was a wet thud, the man grunted, and the gun went off. When Rey peeked over the wheel, Ben and the man rolled on the deck, punching and kicking. Ben must have snuck up from the bow. The gun skittered across the wooden deck and plopped into the water.

 

“I’m with the—” Ben rolled on top and landed a solid punch to the man’s face. There was a sickening crunch. Blood gushed from the man’s nose. Ben rained blow after devastating blow on the man, a snarl on his face.

 

“Ben!” He didn’t stop. Greedo’s ruined face flashed in front of her eyes. That had been a cold execution. This was wild—savage. Terror flooded through her at the thought of Ben killing this man in this way. “Ben, stop! Please!”

 

Ben hesitated, chest heaving and blood smeared over his knuckles. It was a mistake. The man took that momentary pause as an opportunity to punch Ben in the neck. As Ben toppled backwards, choking, the man produced a gleaming knife hidden underneath his shirt. He rose onto his feet, furious.

 

“You crazy fuck! I’m trying to h—”

 

Rey spun the wheel and dropped to the ground. The boom smashed over the man’s head. He crashed to the deck, dazed. Blood trickled down his forehead.

 

The _Angel_ bobbed up and down in the waves. The mast creaked as the wind blew hard from the east. Rey heard a distant thrumming. She shaded her eyes and saw a black speck in the horizon—a motorboat coming fast.

 

“Someone’s coming.”

 

Swiftly, Ben took the knife lying on the deck and pressed it under the man’s neck. “Listen to me very carefully. You’re going to answer my exact questions. Nothing more. Nothing less.”

 

The man groaned and nodded.

 

“What do your clients want from me?”

 

“Talk,” the man rasped. Slowly, he opened one swollen eye.

 

“That your boat?”

 

A nod.

 

“Who’s in it?”

 

“Brother.”

 

“How’d you follow us?” That question was from Rey. She thought she’d been so careful. When had they picked up a tail? “Did someone tell you about us?”

 

“Everyone’s after you. The Hutts’ bounty is at a quarter million.”

 

Her blood turned to ice. That was unheard of. A quarter million was nearly unimaginable for Jakku islanders . It would turn everybody into a spy.

 

The radio crackled followed by a query in Spanish. _Report back, brother._

 

“Empty out your pockets.”

 

The man pulled out a thick wad of currency, a radio and a glossy black card with a red logo emblazoned on its surface.

 

“Now get up and move to the side of the boat.”

 

“No need to hurt me, man. I’ll leave.”

 

“Just like you didn’t need to hurt Rey?” Ben shook his head. He pressed the knife against the man’s throat until blood welled against the steel surface. “I’d happily carve your face but I don’t want your gore on our boat. You’ll leave in one piece or many.”

 

Slowly, painfully, the man got up and hobbled to the side of the boat. Ben picked up the radio. “Rey, get ready to sail.”

 

“What about the other boat?”

 

In response, Ben switched on the radio, “Your brother is suffering from a concussion, bleeding, and is in the water with a seventeen-foot man-eating shark. You can follow us or you can save him. Your choice.” With that, he kicked the man into the water and tossed the radio after him.

* * *

 

 

Rey had almost forgotten. She’d been so lost in her own guilt and confusion and so distracted by Padme Naberrie’s journal and their haste to make it to the Stairway to the Sky, that she’d almost forgotten those terrifying minutes on San Tekka’s porch. Ben had killed those men. He hadn’t just killed them; he’d killed them methodically, brutally and with a cold focused fury that made it clear he’d killed before. Today, there had been no hesitation when he kicked a bleeding, injured man into the water with a shark.

 

Ben said he was in the Air Force. Rey would be the last person to claim she knew anything about the U.S. military, but were pilots supposed to be that good at fighting? She thought about Poe, with his quick smile and his even quicker reflexes. Though he’d handled himself well in a brawl, he hadn’t given Rey the impression of being a killer.

 

A brisk wind blew and soon the _Angel_ raced in open waters. Ben called out the next bearings as soon as they were out of earshot of the screaming man. Rey didn’t look back, shivering, wondering if the shark had come back after all or if his brother saved him. He’d been ready to kill her. He’d been ready to kill Ben. If anybody deserved to be eaten by a shark, it was a Hutt hitman. Somehow, that didn’t bother her as much as Ben’s readiness to kill in return.

 

She’d known Ben was dangerous since she’d pulled him from the sea. It wasn’t just his military background or that he was the son of a famous smuggler or that he’d defied the Hutts. His body told a history of violence—the irregular skin over his side that looked like he’d taken a shotgun blast, the silvery lines of what might have been knife cuts, the starburst red of a gunshot wound on his shoulder. That history hadn’t bothered her either. She’d seen it, accepted it, and let it go.

 

His mind had been more interesting to Rey—so full of facts unclouded by forgetfulness, so quick to decipher clues in a journal over eighty years old. In the first few days of their journey together, he’d worn the sling and Rey had essentially forced him to do nothing while he healed. But now his sling was off and his overwhelming skill in violence made Rey doubt whether she’d fully perceived how dangerous he actually was. It was like swimming with a tiger shark and suddenly realizing it was a Great White.

 

Ben was equally quiet. He’d cleaned her shoulder wound while Rey was steering. She’d been lucky. The bullet had only grazed her, he’d explained, but said no more than that. In the afternoon, she spotted him turning the black and red card that the man had dropped to the deck. His expression was hard, cold and remote. But when he glanced at her, his eyes burned. “You need to leave.”

 

“Excuse me?” Surprise scattered her thoughts, followed quickly by indignation.

 

“Where’s the next inhabited island?”

 

“Are you insane?” Rey checked their surroundings to make sure she didn’t need to concentrate on steering before glaring at him. There was no way in hell he was dumping her now. Dangerous or not, she was not about to stop. “Against all odds, we’re on the right track. We can’t stop now.”

 

“I can’t stop.” He stood up, Adam’s apple bobbing. Desperation and pleading leaked into his voice. “But you can. You have the choice.”

 

“Oh fuck off, Ben Solo,” Rey snarled. She locked the wheel before whirling to face him. Memories of San Tekka’s glazed eyes and _BB8_ ’s  shattered remains darted quicksilver in her mind. “What would you know about my choices?”

 

“You’re in way over your head. These people will kill you.”

 

“Who’s been saving who this whole time? I saved you from the wreckage! I saved you from the Hutts back there! Hell, I even saved you from that shark!  I’m ferrying you around in the most dangerous stretch of water in the Atlantic. So don’t tell me it’s too dangerous.”

 

“You fight to defend yourself. You’ve never killed anyone.”

 

“Because I’m not a monster!”

 

Ben flinched before his jaw tightened. He approached her and for the first time since she’d known him, he looked threatening. He took one long stride in her direction. Rey backed away, hackles raised.

 

“What are you doing?

 

Ben’s fist shot out. Instinctively, Rey dodged the blow and shoved him in the stomach. It was like shoving a brick wall. His arms came to wrap around her neck—a chokehold—but Rey twisted out of his grasp and elbowed him for good measure. She backed away, breathing hard, evading his reach but knowing that it was only because he had let her. He struck again, hard and fast. Rey was good at dodging but there was only so much room on the _Angel._ He cornered her and this time, despite her struggles, she couldn’t get out of his hold. She writhed against him, but his arms were steel around her chest and neck.

 

“You have good instincts, but the mercenaries won’t give you the luxury of playing with kid gloves.” She could feel his chest heaving and his voice rumble. “They’ll break your neck like that.”

 

Rey stomped on his feet hard. Ben swore and let her go. She spun around, glaring at him. She hated that arrogant, knowing expression on his face. She hated that he scared her on purpose just to prove his point. She hated that he was right.

 

Her reservations about him were still there, her doubts were still there, but her desire for vengeance and the way back to her family still burned. Hotter now and brighter than ever. Slowly, she straightened and took a deep breath. “So teach me.”

 

“What?”

 

“I need someone who can show me what I can do. To defend myself. To attack.” Lifting her chin, she said, “I need a teacher.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much to everyone who has left kudos, subscribed, bookmarked, shared and of course commented. Ya'll are the best :) Please feel free to geek out with me on tumblr at moonshotsandarchimedeslevers.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Our relationship isn’t going to be the same as it was before. How can it be when we’re not the same people? But even though it’s terrifying, even if it’s the hardest thing in the world to trust someone with the most vulnerable parts of you, you need to take that leap of faith. 
> 
> Sola was right.
> 
> People can be more beautiful than gems or mountains, more beautiful than flowers or palaces, more beautiful than seas or skies.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As a reminder, my offer to update a chapter early if someone can guess the characters referenced in this line still remains:
> 
> "I sailed with .. a University College London student, a marine salvage scuba diver, a behavioral paleontologist from Isla Nublar."
> 
> Whitedogcollection has correctly identified the behavioral paleontologist as Owen Grady from Jurassic World! As a hint to the others, they were referenced in Chapter One and they also belong in other famous non-Star Wars franchises.

The next day, Rey anchored the  _ Angel  _ on an island thick with coconut, palm and banyan trees. Mindful of their dwindling supplies, she scaled the coconut trees for their fruit and directed Ben to gather figs and guava from nearby trees. While Ben sorted the fruit, Rey took her fishing spear and swam out to sea. When she returned, Ben insisted they take some time to train. “We can always buy supplies in the next market,” he said. “But time is a luxury we don’t have.” So while the winds died to a near whisper, Rey spent as much time as she could learning from Ben.

 

Ben taught like he did everything else—with intense, single-minded focus. He was relentless in putting her through drills, teaching her how to escape chokeholds, how to dodge weapons, how to shoot a gun. They sparred sometimes. Rey rarely won those bouts, but sometimes she surprised him. Surprising Ben was better than uncovering a rare haul. Something about the way his eyes widened, the way his lips parted in awe made her stomach squirm and her heart flutter. 

 

“How’d you learn to fight like this?” Rey asked after he’d knocked her flat on her back for the fifth time in a row. They were sprawled together on the sand, sweating from their exertions.

 

“Where’d you learn to throw a hermit crab like a baseball?” A ghost of a smile lurked in his eyes as he panted above her. Blood trickled from the gash on his brow where the crab had grazed him in passing. Her eyes traced the fullness of his lips and the air crackled between them. Abruptly, Ben leaned back and called for another round.

 

The more she trained with Ben, the more comfortable she felt around him once again. It was a little like swimming with sharks. Baze Malbus of the Rogue One crew was famous for being able to swim fearlessly through waters thick with the predators. When she’d asked Baze how he was able to do it without being attacked, he’d responded, “One can be never be safe when swimming with monsters, Rey.  It’s just that I understand their nature—the violence, the hunger, the darkness—and accept it. And in this acceptance, I can swim among them with no fear.” She hadn’t understood what Baze meant then, but she thought she understood now. Ben’s military background had been something he’d never discussed before, something he’d kept hidden. But now that it was out in the open, she understood it a little better. But unlike with Baze and his sharks, Ben wasn’t just showing her this darkness. He was going one step further and teaching her how to defend against it. 

 

That night, Rey skinned and gutted the fish she’d caught while Ben built a large fire. She skewered the fish and set it to roasting over the open flame. The darkness felt heavy on the island.

 

From the edge of the firelight, Ben asked,“You stopped me today with the assassin. Why?”

 

Rey chewed her lip as she recalled that moment—the terror she felt not at the violence but of Ben giving into that violence. He’d seemed like a different person entirely. She must have taken too long because he continued, “With San Tekka—”

 

“That’s different,” Rey said swiftly before hesitating. The fire snapped and popped. “With San Tekka, it happened so fast. They hurt San Tekka and then they were going to kill us.”

 

“Just like that man was going to kill us.” Ben leaned forward, brown eyes intent on her face. It felt like being in the only patch of sun in a gloomy sea.

 

“When you were on top of him, beating him, it didn’t seem that way. It seemed like you were doing it because you were angry. That’s no reason to kill.”

 

Ben’s jaw tightened and his eyes dropped. “I was angry. But sometimes you need to use that anger to fuel you in a fight. Anger will help if you need to…”

 

“I’m not going to attack someone because I’m angry.” At Ben’s questioning gaze, Rey explained, “I don’t take charity. I don’t steal. I don’t kill. As poor as I was, at least I had that. Unkar’s charity kept me working in his junkyard for years while he grew fat. When I got hungry, he pushed me to steal from the visitors passing through. I wouldn’t. I knew what it was like to have what was yours taken from you.” She took one skewer and offered it to Ben. “The Hutts would have hired me long ago for their dives, but I didn’t want to be part of a crew that killed people because they were in someone’s way. Just like I had been in someone’s way.”

 

“You have a good heart.” Ben’s smile was wan and, somehow, sad. He accepted the skewer. “You could have turned into a monster like Teedo or Unkar. Most people would have. But you’re just sweet.”

 

“I am not sweet,” Rey scowled. “For your information, I can keep up with the saltiest pirates and smugglers out there. If someone were trying to kill me, I wouldn’t hesitate to defend myself. But I’m not going to go ‘round murdering people as a policy because—”

 

“I wouldn’t bet against you.” Ben rolled his eyes as he bit into his skewer. “I know. But Rey, one day, probably very soon if you keep hanging around me, you will need to make that decision—to kill someone because of what they might do and not in self-defense.”

* * *

 

 

On the second evening after they left the Stairway to the Stars, the wind still hadn’t kicked up and a sense of urgency started nagging at Rey. “What’s the next island called?”

 

“Varykino,” Ben pulled out the heavy journal and offered it to her. “Want to read?

 

Nodding, Rey paged through to the last entry she’d read. At a page depicting two stiff, seated figures, both wearing strange hats, she held the book out to Ben. “Does this say Abu Simbel? Built by Ray-mses?”

 

“Pharaoh Ramesses II. Abu Simbel is a temple built to celebrate a great victory, but it was also a memorial to his wife, Nefertari. Every other statue of an Egyptian queen is smaller than their husband’s, but not hers. Ramesses considered her his equal, and so her statue was the same size as his. He called her  _ the One for Whom the Sun Shine _ s.”

 

“I wanna see that,” Rey whispered. Padme’s journal was a welcome respite from her growing suspicions about Ben’s past, and the distraction of far off places eased the tension in Rey’s body. She tilted her head back to stare at the stars. “It must look amazing.”

 

“It’s just a piece of carved rock.” Ben threw a stick into the fire and watched it burn.

* * *

 

 

_ May 1937 _

 

_   I know now why the rumors called it Varykino—the sea of stars. On the night of a new moon, the waters tumbling on the beach glow as if lit by a thousand tiny stars. It’s like someone put the night sky into the ocean. _

__

_ It was so beautiful and it made me miss him even more. It was a mistake to leave Ani in Bespin. It’s not fair to treat him like a child, especially after everything he’s been through.  He can swim with tiger sharks or join the military if he wants. _

 

_ It makes sense that he would join the military. Ben is like a brother to him and Ani would be brilliant in the academy. Ani would be brilliant in anything he wanted to do. But somehow, I thought our time together would last forever. _

 

_ Sola would say that I was being silly. But the thought of my sister only made me even more sad. I cried on the most beautiful beach in the world, feeling stupid, selfish and sorry for myself. Then I heard my name. When I looked up, I saw him standing there. He’d followed me! He apologized for making me mad and I apologized for not respecting his decisions. _

 

_ We talked for a long time and after, we swam in that star-strewn sea. He kissed me when we made it back to shore. _

 

_ Our relationship isn’t going to be the same as it was before. How can it be when we’re not the same people?  But even though it’s terrifying, even if it’s the hardest thing in the world to trust someone with the most vulnerable parts of you, you need to take that leap of faith. Sola was right. _

 

_ People can be more beautiful than gems or mountains, more beautiful than flowers or palaces, more beautiful than seas or skies. I understand now why she wanted to stay close to home before the end. _

 

_ I swear Ani is the most beautiful thing I’ve ever known. _

* * *

 

When the sun rose the next day, the winds blew strong and smelled of dry heat and dirt—the solitary precursor to a X’us’R’iia. Memories of a storm-tossed sea and black mountainous waves under a roiling sky filled her mind. Her first instinct was to secure the  _ Azure Angel _ and then find a safe shelter high up from the beach. X’us’R’iia were strong, but rarely lasted more than a day or two. But then she remembered the Hutt hit man sneaking aboard the  _ Angel _ . Storms weren’t the only danger to be feared in Jakku. So Rey shaded her eyes to look at the sky and saw it was clear and blue. The storm was coming, but not yet. They had a day and a half, perhaps more. So they loaded their meager supplies onto the  _ Angel _ and made good time to the second island.

 

Unlike the jagged rocky atolls near Bespin, the islands around Varykino were filled with white sand, thick coconut groves, flowering orchid vines, and thick jasmine bushes. The sweet and salt scents combined into a heady perfume that filled Rey’s head. She glanced at Ben several times during the journey, unable to help her eyes lingering on his muscles’ every curve and dip . His skin had bronzed under the constant sun and he no longer had the same pinched, pale, unhealthy look from before. He looked strong and powerful.

 

Shame quickly followed her thoughts and she was careful not to touch him unless absolutely necessary. Training was different. Training was a struggle, an action that required all her focus and determination, an effort that left no room for her longing. If her mind was engaged in learning, something she did enjoy, then it couldn’t pay attention to how air disappeared around Ben. She couldn’t pay attention to his hand spanning her waist or how he lifted her so effortlessly in their tussles or how his body covered up the whole world when he managed to get the upper hand. She couldn’t pay attention to the fullness of his lips or the juncture where his neck and his shoulder met. She couldn’t pay attention to how he smelled—sea salt and ozone and male.

 

Ben always kept her at arm’s length. He thought she didn’t notice, but she did. Somehow, he must have found out about her crush. He spared her the humiliation of speaking of it in any case. He no longer sat next to her when she read from Padme’s journal. That stung more than anything else, though she couldn’t put into words why it did.

 

It was a relief to reach the second island. Varykino was populated. The sight of a tiny but busy fishing village made Ben and Rey pause. Padme’s journal hadn’t mentioned a village. If it was populated, wouldn’t the locals have already seen the strange phenomenon she described?

 

“It’s right,” Ben muttered, rereading her journal and his notes. “It has to be.”

 

“Why don’t we sail around the island? Perhaps there’s a beach that the locals can’t get to.” Even as Rey said it, she knew it couldn’t be true. Any islander worth their salt knew their island. And a sea made up of stars would be a hard secret to keep. Still, it gave Ben time to think as they circled Varykino.

 

Steep hills dominated the island landscape. Mangrove trees surrounded the island on all sides so that the only beach was in the deep inner cove that sheltered the fishing village. Groves of coconut crowded the beaches. Fishermen in wooden boats with bright sails wove in and out of the cove hauling nets of silver fish, pale shrimp and red crab. A thick sandbar stretched in the mouth of the cove and acted as a natural water break. At the very least, they’d have shelter from the X’us’R’iia tonight. Over the water, Rey heard Spanish, Portuguese, and a bit of French. The scent of cooking rice and fish stew wafted from the island. Rey’s mouth watered.

 

“All right, I’ll take a look around. You stay inside the  _ Angel _ .”

 

“Absolutely not.” The glare he shot her could have melted steel.

 

“Everyone is looking for you. The Hutts don’t even know me. I’ll be safe.”

 

“I am not hiding while you wander around some strange market with murderous gangsters and who knows what else.”

 

“Okay, what’s your brilliant solution then?” Rey threw up her hands in exasperation. “Sail around the island at night and see if any of the waters glow blue?”

 

“Technically speaking, we don’t even need to wait at all. We can just apply Padme’s bearings—”

 

“Why are you always in such a rush?” Ben flushed. Even the tips of his ears turned red. It’d be cute if Rey wasn’t so annoyed with him. “It’s better to do this right than to do it fast. If there is a glowing beach somewhere in this area, the locals will know about it. But if not, we won’t know this is the right island until we actually search it.”

* * *

 

 

The village was small. It consisted of twenty huts and a main street that also served as the marketplace. Friendly faces called out prices and wares in a variety of languages. Rey lingered curiously over a stand selling pungent spices and sweet herbs.

 

It felt strange being apart from Ben. With a start, she realized this was the furthest they’d been from each other since they’d met. In the beginning, his constant presence was annoying, almost claustrophobic. Now, his absence left her vaguely unsettled. She hadn’t even realized how accustomed she was to ask for his opinion until she’d turned several times, started a question and then trailed off at the empty space.

 

The world felt a little colder, a little stranger without his presence beside her. Rey tried to shake off the feeling. Ben wasn’t gone. He was inside the  _ Angel,  _ seething and mentally counting down her allotted thirty minutes at the village. Ben had promised her he’d come get her even at the risk of being recognized. With his bounty as large as it was, word had no doubt spread to even this remote corner of Jakku.

 

Rey bargained with a Jamaican woman for a stack of flatbread. Ben had given her some of the currency from the dead gangster’s pocket so that she could buy supplies for their journey. Rey was grateful to have a break from the fish and fruit they’d been living on. Mindful of Ben’s larger appetite, Rey pointed to another loaf of bread before asking the woman in Spanish if she’d heard of a beach named Varykino. 

 

“That is the island name and the name of the drink,” said the woman, confused.  She pointed to a nearby stall—the busiest in the entire village. “You can try it there, at Dante’s.”

 

The drink was a chilled wine made from fermented coconuts. The numerous groves throughout the island made its production easy for the locals. Rey was given a cup free from the Filipino vendor who proudly told her that he’d taught everybody the process of making coconut wine in Jakku.

 

Rey spluttered around her drink, eyes watering, but the cool drink felt good sliding down her throat. Idly, she wondered if Ben had ever had coconut wine and if he would like to try some.

 

“Good, hah?” asked Dante. He was a small man with eyes and mouth that crinkled with laughter. His voice was thick with an accent that sounded almost like Spanish. “I sell for a good price.”

 

“I’m not sure,” Rey hedged. She wondered what came first—the island name or the drink. “Have you been here long?”

 

“Fifteen years,” the man said proudly. “Left the family business to start my own.”

 

“Is the drink called Varykino back where you’re from?”

 

“No, it’s called Bahalina. Varykino is special because I make it with coconut from Jakku.” 

 

“Is there a beach called Varykino that you get your coconut from?”

 

“I get coconut everywhere on the island.” Dante gestured expansively, “Even different islands. Different coconuts give different flavors.”

 

“Not one special grove that you like more than others?” Rey tried again.

 

“It’s bad to always pick from the same trees. Hurts the tree, you know.”

 

“Makes sense. Do you know why the island is named Varykino?”

 

The man shook his head and was distracted by other customers. Rey wandered through the stalls, picking up chicken marinated with ginger, lime and chiles and extra blankets. She even considered getting a new sail, but that was too expensive. She asked each vendor if they’d heard of a beach named Varykino or if they’d heard of a special beach nearby. She was luckier with the latter.

 

A Cuban woman selling sapodillas, star apples and figs said her grandmother told her stories about a sea full of lights. Her grandmother called it the gods’ sea and said that it was a cursed place. Another man who sold fish said that the sea king’s cemetery was nearby and that the souls of the fallen merfolk made the waters glow. Rey shivered at that.

 

She trudged back to the  _ Angel,  _ arms full of supplies and head full of local stories. She was almost to the  _ Angel _ when a shock of red hair appeared above the rail and soon a man climbed up the deck. He was tall, almost as tall as Ben, with a pasty white complexion and a pinched mouth like he’d smelled something foul. He looked utterly alien in the bright Jakku sunlight—as if someone had drawn a cartoon and dropped it on the beach.

 

She was so startled, Rey nearly lost her grip on her bags. Had the Hutts gotten to Ben?

 

Then the man turned back and she saw that Ben accompanied him. Their voices were low, but Rey could hear their words. The man had a snooty English accent—again, a cartoonish British voice that evil people often used in old radio dramas—and he was telling Ben, “It might actually work. The First Order can’t afford to turn their nose up at such a resource. Provided you can unearth this treasure, your unfortunate absence can be overlooked.”

 

“Provided you can give me enough time, I’m sure your cut will go unnoticed.” Ben’s voice was cold and flat, the way Rey imagined a sea of ice would feel. She didn’t recognize that voice. He’d never spoken like that to Rey.

 

“I’m happy to give my immediate assistance—”

 

“I know how this game works,” Ben snapped. “I’m not giving the secrets to you or Snoke or anybody else. Just keep the others off my back.”

 

“Very well. And as long as you keep it neat, I see no need to insert myself in the situation.”

 

“I’ll handle it.”

 

“Will you?”

 

“Hux.” An unmistakable note of warning threaded through that single word like the crack appearing on a sheet of ice. Every instinct told Rey to run _.  _ “Perhaps you need a reminder of my abilities.”

 

Hasty steps sounded on the deck followed by a cough. “No, err, that’s quite all right. I’ll need to come up with your excuses before my report.”

 

“Good.”

 

Hux hopped off the _Azure Angel_. He was dressed in a black suit and tie—expensive, elegant and completely inappropriate for the weather. He must have been sweating like a pig underneath all those layers. Rey kept a blank face as he walked past her. He opened his jacket to reveal a bulky black and yellow satellite phone. Pressing the device to his ear, he said, “Director Snoke, please.”

 

He strode down the port and into the village. Rey wondered where he’d come from. She couldn’t imagine a man like that traveling on a rickety wooden boat. Slowly, Rey turned back to the  _ Angel _ **_._ ** Ben spotted her from the deck. His mouth was pressed in a grim line and he looked nervous, almost.  _ Guilty _ .

 

“Who was that?” Rey asked, approaching him. Her intuition clanged a warning, but of what? Hesitantly, she handed their bags of supplies over, mindful of the fresh food. He was still watching her carefully as if expecting her to disappear. She paused, but only for a moment, before hopping into the  _ Angel.  _ She sat down on a bench and drew a star apple from a bag. Taking her knife, she cut it in half and offered the other to Ben. “Not the Hutts, right?”

 

Ben sighed and it was if all the tension leaked out of him. He slumped into the seat next to her, the closest he’d sat since the stairway, and took the star apple. The flesh was pink and juicy. “Work problem. I’ve gone AWOL.”

 

“What’s that mean?” Rey bit into the juicy flesh. It was soft and sweet. A bit of juice dribbled down her chin and she wiped it away with the back of her hand.

 

“It means I’m in a shit load of trouble for not being where I’m supposed to be.” Ben stared at the fruit as if it contained all the answers in the universe. “My boss is kinda like Unkar in that way.”

 

“Hux your boss?”

 

“God no!” Ben looked absolutely disgusted like he’d found a worm in his star apple. “Hux is the biggest rat you’ll ever meet. He’s running  field on my retrieval, unfortunately. I told him I’d turn myself in after I found Vader’s treasure and give him a cut.”

 

Rey hadn’t thought much of what would happen after they found the treasure. Finding the next island, staying ahead of the Hutts, avoiding Jakku’s dangers took up all of Rey’s thoughts. What little imagination she had to spare was filled with stories from Padme’s journal and Ben’s closeness as they sparred. She’d assumed that they would transport some or most of the treasure somehow. Perhaps Ben knew of a fence through his father’s contacts. But beyond Ben giving her the promised repayment for BB8? Finding her parents? What would happen to Ben? She hadn’t realized that they would have to part. Of course she knew that they wouldn’t stay together but now the thought of it upset her. She didn’t like thinking of a future where they weren’t stuck in close quarters with each other almost every hour of the day.

 

It was such an odd, alien feeling that Rey couldn’t identify it at first. Once she did, it almost disgusted her. Of course he would go on his way. He didn’t have any reason to stay. Why should that bother her? She’d known him for such a short amount of time.

 

When she looked up, he was staring at her with such a soft, earnest expression on his face. His eyes were almost luminous in the setting sun. She’d never seen brown eyes like his—deep and full of emotion. Her heart leapt into her throat.

 

“I’ll take care of you,” he said softly. “I promise I’ll get you your payment somehow, even if I have to go through Hux to get it.”

 

Cursing her own feelings, Rey stood up and began to unpack the supplies. Ben made a happy sound of approval at the chicken and flatbread she revealed along with the variety of fruit.

 

“Did you find anything useful in the market?”

 

Rey told him of her discoveries.

 

“Where there’s smoke…” Ben looked thoughtful as he took the extra blankets she shook out and carried it to the bunk. “No location?”

 

“If they knew that, it’d be a bigger tourist draw than the coconut wine.” Ben looked surprised so Rey told him about the most popular vendor in the island. “Have you heard of such a thing?”

 

“In Banaue, yes. Near the rice terraces, some people ferment coconut to make wine. Very strong. Very good.”

 

“It felt strong.” Rey made a face. Alcohol tasted bitter or sour or both in Rey’s tongue. Once, she’d tried rum from Poe’s ship and that had tasted better. But Rey never had occasion to try anything fancier than the cheap beer Unkar imported whenever he could. “What are rice terraces?”

 

“Mountains that look like giant staircases.”

 

Rey stopped midway from lifting her second fruit sack. “Are you lying to me?”

 

“No.” Ben laughed. It was the first time he’d laughed since the first island. Rey didn’t realize how much she’d missed the sound until she heard it. His laughter was warm and comforting. “Farmers created plateaus on the mountain sides so they could plant rice. It looks like a giant staircase.”

 

“I want to see it.” Rey pictured it in her head. An entire mountain range transformed to look like giant staircases. Literal giant staircases. Each step a rice paddy. Grinning, she turned to him as she passed the sack, “That’s incredible.”

 

“I don’t know about that.” Ben rolled his eyes. He finished storing the last of the fruit in the locker and latched the lid. “They didn’t have flat plains so the people had to terraform the land they had. It was out of necessity.”

 

“Or they could have just moved elsewhere,” Rey pointed out. “The farmers transformed mountains. People are incredible.”

 

“Some people are.” Ben tucked a strand of hair back against her ear. The touch felt like a lightning bolt. The fine hairs at the back of her neck stood on end and the blood rushed to her face. She stared up at him. But Ben’s hand fell and he stepped away from her. “We should move on to the next island.”

 

The whiplash change of topic made Rey rock back. “You…what?”

 

“Hux can only hold off the search for me for so long,” Ben cleared his throat. “We need to get moving as quickly as possible.”

 

“But what if the beach isn’t on this island, but on the atoll a mile away to the west? Wouldn’t that affect our bearings?”

 

Ben grunted, looking at the horizon. Rey studied his face. His brows were furrowed and his jaw was tight. His full lips were compressed just a little. She could tell he was mentally calculating the potential risks of all their options. But underneath all that, she could see it—worry.

 

“What will happen to you once you turn yourself in to Hux?” She could tell she’d surprised him by the little shake of his head. “Will they arrest you? Hurt you?”

 

“It doesn’t matter.”

 

“Doesn’t it?”

 

“What matters is proving my father was right.”

 

“I’ve never met Han,” Rey said quietly. “But I don’t think he’d want that at the cost of your life.”

 

“The maximum punishment is confinement for a year and a half, dishonorable discharge and forfeiture of all payment and allowances.” His face was serious, but there was a trace of humor in his voice. “I just go to prison for a while, they dock my pay and then they kick me out. We don’t execute deserters these days.”

 

Rey flushed a little, embarrassed at her own naivete. The way he’d looked, she’d thought the consequences were far more fatal. All in all, quitting his job didn’t sound so bad unless he really wanted to stay. And he’d have the money to deal with the aftermath. “Are you going to bribe the military like you’re bribing Hux? Could your boss be convinced not to punish you if you gave him some of the treasure?”

 

“I don’t know.”

 

“You can always run away?”

 

Snorting, Ben ducked out onto the deck and stared at the darkening sky. “Where would I go?”

 

“Anywhere,” Rey said feeling a little queasy and flushed. “I wouldn’t mind you tagging along with me.” Ben looked at her then, really looked at her, and her stomach dropped. “I mean, it’s just an option if you felt like disappearing into nowhere. Nobody notices me and Jakku isn’t a bad place if you want to disappear.” Rey was pretty sure her eyes were round and her face was pale. A roaring noise filled her ears and she couldn’t help the staticky white noise from filling her head.

 

“It’s not a good idea,” Ben said quietly.

 

“Okay.” Rey nodded briskly but her voice was faint. Of course he wouldn’t want to go with her. She wasn’t surprised. What had Unkar said?  _ Your own parents dumped you on my beach…  _ Rey knew her parents left her for a good reason, but it hurt all the same. Just like it hurt when Finn left with Poe. She announced, “The X’us’R’iia is hitting tonight. The cove is protected by sandbars and reef, so I don’t think the boats will be in much danger. We need to batten the hatches, take everything down and store it in the lockers and cabin. I’m going to try and anchor the  _ Angel  _ to the mangroves. It’s going to be a rough night.”

* * *

 

 

With Ben recovered from his injuries, they made quick work of readying the  _ Angel _ . Ben secured the door just as the rain began lashing down from the darkened skies. The cabin felt cozy—dry and protected—as they ate the dinner Rey bought from the village. The chicken marinated with ginger, lime and chiles along with the flatbread was the most delicious food Rey had eaten in weeks.

 

Ben listened to her as she read from Padme’s journal. In December 1927, Padme visited the Taj Mahal with her sister Sola. Padme had been born in India while her father was stationed there. She and her sister liked to visit the memorial to Mumtaz.

 

“Who is Mumtaz?” Rey asked. She plucked a fig from the small sack in between them.

 

“She was the empress consort of the Mughal Emperor.” Ben chewed the fruit as he wrote on the yellow tablet. Rey watched in fascinated as graceful lines and curves connected to form letters. “He loved her so much he built a mausoleum of white marble to house her remains as a symbol that he’d never stop loving her.”

 

“Have you ever been?” Rey was practiced enough in reading Padme’s journal that she could make out the letters in Ben’s hand.

 

“Yes.”  Ben paused in his sketch as he took another fig and chewed on it. While he was occupied, she saw that the first letter was an R.

 

“What’s it like?”

 

“Like someone fashioned moonlight and the night sky to make a palace.”  Ben slowly began sketching again. Under his hand, the letter took shape to become an E.

 

“I’d like to see that.”

 

“Most girls do,” Ben shrugged, inscribing a Y.

 

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Rey asked, stung. “Wouldn’t everybody want to see something like that?”

 

“I’d rather see a nice bed and a hot shower.”

 

“Are you—are you teasing me?”

 

“Never,” Ben said, deadpan, but the glint in his eyes betrayed his humor. He broke into laughter as Rey tossed the remains of her fig at him. Then Rey’s indignation died because she realized he’d written her name. He’d taken her name, something so short and commonplace, and made it beautiful.

 

“What’s the matter?” he asked.

 

“Nothing,” Rey said, ignoring the ache in her chest.

* * *

 

 

The storm broke a little past midnight. Rey woke to the rain lashing against the  _ Angel _ ’s windows and thunder cracked overhead. Ben was silent, which meant he was awake.

 

“Why is it called X’us’R’iia?” Ben asked. His voice was soft in the darkness and Rey shivered. She’d been avoiding thinking about her attraction to him ever since the morning at the Stairway. Between the danger from the Hutts, puzzling over Padme’s journal, and Ben’s own suspicious behavior, she’d kept those thoughts to a minimum. But they hadn’t gone away. They simmered underneath the surface and every touch between them cracked that placid exterior.

 

“The breath of the gods,” Rey whispered. “It was a punishment leveled against the people for defiling their sacred waters. Nobody sails in X’us’R’iia because to do so would be to spit in their face. They come fast and sometimes without warning. This is why it’s really important to have a motorboat in Jakku. It’s too easy to get caught by a X’us’R’iia miles from land. We’ve been really lucky. So far.”

 

“A motorboat like  _ BB8 _ ?”

 

Rey was quiet. She hadn’t thought he’d remembered the name of her dinghy.

 

“Where were you going with that boat anyway?”

 

Rey rolled over to stare at the wall. The X’us’R’iia was also a sacred space for speaking truths. Did Ben know that? Or was he just as affected by the intimacy of the darkness covering them like a blanket?

 

“Unkar said my parents were fishermen who’d dumped me on his beach. But I don’t think that’s true. I remember a woman promising me she’d come back. Her voice is so clear in my mind. So I saved up all the money I had to find them.” To her horror, tears pricked the corner of Rey’s eyes. “I know it’s a long shot, but I have to try. I just don’t want to be alone anymore.”

 

For the first time since they’d met, Ben reached for her. His arms folded over her and his breath puffed against the back of her neck. “You’re not alone.”

 

“Neither are you. I mean it. Avenging your father, finding Vader’s treasure. You don’t have to do it alone. If you’re sure we’re on the right track, then let’s head out in the morning.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you like Between Sky and Sea, take a gander at my other reylo fanfiction.
> 
> 7 Stages of Attraction: 7-part smutty drabble series when stagehand Rey runs into lead singer Ben from the Knights of Ren.
> 
> This is Us Colliding: Desperate to save her bakery from going out of business, Rey decides to steal apples from Varykino Orchards. Things go awry when Ben catches her in the act. But instead of turning her in, Ben makes an interesting proposal... An apple-picking twist on Beauty and the Beast/Snow White for the Reylo Writing Den fall fic exchange.


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ben knelt on the bed, eyes wild as he gasped, “Rey? I felt something attack me. What happened?”
> 
> Rey stared at him, blood rushing into her cheeks. “Uhh… it was just a nightmare.”
> 
> “But I felt something touch me.” Ben looked completely thrown. Then his eyes widened. “Did you...did you just kiss me?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Surprise!!!
> 
> Congratulations to midnightbluefox for correctly identifying the last two mystery adventurers in my earlier challenge!
> 
> "I sailed with .. a University College London student, a marine salvage scuba diver, a behavioral paleontologist from Isla Nublar."
> 
> The behavioral paleontologist from Isla Nublar is, of course, our favorite raptor wrangler Owen Grady. The marine salvage scuba diver is Nathan Drake from the Uncharted video games. And the hardest person to identify is Lara Croft as the University College London student!
> 
> Rey has totally gone on previous adventures with these characters :D They (inadvertently) dragged her into the craziest shenanigans.

When Rey opened her eyes, pale light spilled through the small portholes. Waves lapped against the _Angel’s_ hull and Ben’s snores filled the small cabin. She wasn’t on the far side against the wall. She was in the center of the bed, tucked against Ben’s chest. He was curled around her, arms secure against her waist. His weight should have felt suffocating. It didn’t. It felt unbearably sweet, like the taste of star apples lingering on her tongue. The fear that made her run on the stairway didn’t resurface. Rey didn’t want to run away. She wanted to stay here in his arms, because it was the only place to be. So she closed her eyes and slept again.

 

The second time Rey woke, it was to the mattress dipping. Ben crawled back underneath the thin blanket. He smelled like a storm—ozone, fresh rain and a cold wind. His voice was quiet against her hair. “Sorry, I woke you.”

 

“Where’d you go?” She turned so she could nuzzle his throat. Her arm wound around his chest and it felt like the most natural thing in the world.

 

“Go to sleep,” Ben whispered. His lips pressed against her hair. “We still have some time.”

 

Birdsong, waves lapping against the hull and the _Angel’s_ gentle creaking woke Rey the third time. She was tucked against Ben’s side; he was deeply asleep. For the first time since she’d known him, his face was relaxed. He looked so much younger without his brow’s ever-present furrow or his gaze’s blazing intensity.  The hours spent in the sun and rain had washed away his skin’s pinched pallor. He didn’t look like a starved jungle cat, all skin and muscles and bone. Now that Rey was no longer distracted by the scars and his threatening demeanor, she could appreciate how built he was. How strong.

 

His lashes were long and thick. His full lips were parted as he breathed deeply and evenly in his sleep. His thick hair was dark, almost night-black, and it fell in gentle waves around his face. She brushed his hair away from his face; it felt so soft around her fingers.

 

Ben sighed and nuzzled her wrist. His lips burned against her skin and an ache filled her chest. When he no longer moved, she let her fingers roam gently. His cheekbones were high and elegant. His stubble felt rough against her fingers.

 

The dark circles under Ben's eyes had lightened. Now that they'd gotten eight hours of sleep each night, he didn't look exhausted. Finally, finally she let her fingers touch his lips. In the daylight, she couldn't stop looking at them even when she tried not to. They were full and sensuous. Combined with his voice and his mind, Rey could listen to him for hours as he told her stories about the night sky or the ancient palaces or past wars.

 

There was no use for it. When he'd promised her the night before that she wasn't alone, she'd felt every dam she'd built around her heart break open.

 

She loved him. It was insane and she barely knew him. But she couldn't help it either.

 

So Rey leaned forward and kissed him. It was a gentle brush against his lips but Ben hissed. The next thing she knew, she was on the floor.

 

Ben knelt on the bed, eyes wild as he gasped, “Rey? I felt something attack me. What happened?”

 

Rey stared at him, blood rushing into her cheeks. “Uhh… it was just a nightmare.”

 

“But I felt something touch me.” Ben looked completely thrown. Then his eyes widened. “Did you...did you just kiss me?"

 

"No!" Rey scrambled up. "No, I was just...I... There was a spider on your face!”

 

Ben sat back, brows contracting. “Rey.”

 

“I’m going to check on the _Angel!_ ” She slammed the door on her way out of the cabin. The sky was bare of clouds and sunlight glittered on the water’s surface. A cool breeze stirred the trees. The perfect day to sail. Yet her fingers and toes felt numb and her breath came in short gasps.

 

When she heard Ben stirring in the cabin, Rey fought the rising panic by examining the _Angel_ . Between the steep hills, the thick mangrove and sandbar, Varykino had sheltered its boats from the storm. While the rain had lashed down and thunder cracked the air, the _Angel_ had only bobbed up and down as if in a strong wind. They’d been extremely lucky.

 

Ignoring Ben’s call from behind her, Rey threw open the lockers underneath the benches and shook out the mainsail. Rainwater had leaked into the benches, but the fabric was otherwise undamaged.

 

Ben appeared in the doorway, watching her. Rey ignored him as she set about reattaching the sails to the line and drawing it up. She felt a little better watching the faded blue fabric rise bravely on the mast. It was a little worn, a little faded, a little tattered—but it still worked. The _Angel_ would take them where they needed to go.

 

“Rey, we should talk.”

 

“No time,” Rey said briskly. “Can you clean up around here? I’ll need to check around the _Angel_ and make sure she didn’t hit anything. We need to move quickly so we don’t lose daylight.”

 

“Rey.” Ben caught the rags she tossed him, a frown on his face. Abruptly, Rey felt angry. He had no right standing there looking upset and handsome and stern.

 

Blushing furiously, Rey checked the anchor, the ropes and the railing. The additional lines to the mangrove trees had prevented the boat from being torn apart. Briskly, she untied the additional lines from the mangrove branches.

 

Rey found only one scrape against the bow from where the _Angel_ had surged against a mangrove tree. The thick branches had scraped off the paint, but little else. She hung from the railing, inspecting the scratches with her fingers to see if there was any deeper damage. That was when she realized that the _Angel_ hadn’t bumped against one mangrove tree but two. Their branches had intertwined so much that it’d been hard to tell one apart from the other. But in the early sunlight, the branches had snapped off and Rey could see a narrow channel of water that disappeared under thick foliage. Curious, Rey peered into the shadow of the trees. She’d thought the mangroves backed into the shoreline, but there was definitely a path between the two mangroves that lead further into the hill.

 

Ben appeared on the bow. His mouth was set in a grim line. “Rey, we need to talk.”

 

“Do you see that?” Rey pointed down the shadowy path. “I think the water heads straight into the hill.”

 

His eyes flicked up to the path and back down to her, frowning. “Rey, I don’t think this is a good idea.”

 

“Why not?” Excitement flooded through Rey. She hurried back to the stern, mentally reviewing all the equipment she’d need. The surfboard to paddle through the water, headlamp, flippers, goggles just in case. “Padme described an incredibly narrow entrance that eventually opens into a large space. If the cavern is inside the hill or behind the hill, it makes perfect sense that the mangrove trees would block the water leading up to it.”

 

Ben stopped Rey before she could drop the surfboard into the water. “I don’t care.”

 

“But it could be the Sea of Stars.” Rey looked back at him in confusion. “Don’t you want to find out?”

 

“The odds are so low—”

 

“About as low as the two of us finding the Stairway to the Sky in the right time. I just don’t see why you can’t wait an hour or two—”

 

“I don’t have time!” Ben threw her equipment on the deck with such force that the goggles cracked.

 

“What the hell is wrong with you?” Anger flared hot inside her chest and made her clench her fists. “You can’t just go around breaking people’s stuff! Those are my only pair!”

 

“This isn’t some sightseeing tour. Christ, Rey, how are you still _not_ getting that?”

 

“Of course I get that,” Rey said, stung. What she didn’t get was why Ben was in such a hurry. They’d gone over this multiple times before. It just didn’t make any sense. Hux had already said he’d Ben time to get to the treasure. “Say we do go ahead and leave right now. Maybe we’re on the right track, maybe not. But if we’re not, do you think Hux will give you time in case we need to backtrack?”

 

He fell silent, jaws clenched.

 

“You know I’m right,” Rey said. “If we’re wrong, we’ll only have lost one day. It’d be stupid to get it wrong when we’re halfway through.”

 

“As stupid as you kissing me?”

 

The silence felt louder than the storm. Rey’s mouth dried. “What did you just say?”

 

“Your judgment is clouded.” Ben crossed his arms. His expression had shuttered now. “You’ve been reading Padme’s journal as if it were one of San Tekka’s books. This isn’t some great adventure, Rey. I am not Padme Naberrie rescuing island orphans from their stagnant lives. It’s past time you understood that.”

 

“I never thought you were like Padme.”  But even as she said it, Rey thought that perhaps deep down, she had. The parallels were there. Just like Padme, Ben had dropped into her life and taken her away. It had been an adventure even if she’d been shot at and beaten. Like Padme, Ben was well-educated, determined and driven in his goals. Small wonder Anakin had worshipped Padme. Small wonder Rey loved Ben.

 

“It’s not your fault,” Ben continued.  He turned his gaze to the horizon. “Between the excitement of the hunt and the adrenaline from combat, combined with the enforced proximity, it makes sense that you would be attracted to me. It’s normal. But I’m not Padme. This isn’t going to work out. Just because I pay attention to you doesn’t mean that I like you in that way. You must realize that I wouldn’t--I can’t be with anyone. Especially not someone like you.”

 

She recognized that look. It was the same look people often had when she passed them on other islands. Eyes sliding away because she didn’t matter. She was some junkrat. A seadiver. Unimportant. Nobody. And it hurt more than getting beaten by Hutt gangsters or Unkar’s sneers or going hungry. “Why are you saying this? Last night you…”

 

“You’re a nobody.” The words hit her with more impact than the flesh wound had. The world swam in her eyes and it took her a moment to sort through the emotions. Shock. Fury. And a deep ocean of hurt. “You don’t know anything.”

 

“What was your job in the military?”

 

He blinked, and she knew that she’d surprised him. “I told you. I was in the Air Force.”

 

“What’d you do?”

 

“Should I read you my full rank?” He let out a snort of dismissive laughter.  “Explain what the Air Force is?”

 

A bitter smile twisted her lips, “See, I know enough. I know I’m not the one keeping secrets.” Tears started falling down her cheeks. Dashing them roughly against the palm of her hand, Rey shucked out of her shirt and went to the rail.

 

“Don’t!” Ben’s grip around her arm was firm. Rey glared at him and he released her, his face softening. “You keep running away. It’s not safe here. At least wait until we’re in the sea…”

 

“You know what? I don’t care what you think anymore. Go on! Head to the third island. You know enough about sailing to do it on your own. Or hire somebody else. I don’t care,” Rey snapped. “But I’m not the one running away, Ben Solo. You are.”

 

With that, she dove into the water and started swimming toward the mangrove trees. Rage and sorrow burned in her chest and she tried to expel the emotions with every swift stroke towards the shoreline. She didn’t hear a splash behind her so she knew Ben just stood there watching her, or not. Maybe he’d already left.

* * *

  


She felt cold. Which was ridiculous because it was never cold in the archipelago. The weather was either humid and hot or blistering and hot. The coolest she’d ever felt was drinking canned soda from the expedition ships. But here in the shadows of the hidden cave, Rey felt cold.

 

Ben was gone.

 

She wasn’t sure how she got there. Blinded by fury and tears, she remembered rushing into the narrow channel between the mangrove roots. She remembered the heat suffocating her or perhaps it was her own shame. She remembered the cave’s open mouth and half splashing, half swimming in and dragging herself to shore. Then she’d collapsed onto the sand because…

 

Ben was gone.

 

She didn’t know how long she lay there. Sound was funny in caves sometimes, Rey knew. The littlest things could make the biggest noise: parakeets and thrushes chirping, fern trees creaking, leaves rustling, water gently rushing, her tears steadily dripping.

 

Ben was gone.

 

The sun set. Rey wouldn’t have noticed if she hadn’t seen the dappled sunlight inch slowly over her body and finally disappear into the darkening waters. The burnished bronze and gold cave had darkened to grey and finally faded into darkness.

 

Ben was gone.

 

Under the cover of night, Rey finally allowed herself to think. She’d been out of her depth. She knew that. The whole quest had been an incredible long shot. It was a long risk, but she was fine with that. She’d done riskier things before. But she’d fucked up when she’d fallen for Ben.

 

_Stupid girl!_ She could hear Unkar’s sneer. _Why would anyone want you?_

 

The worst part was that they had been so close to finding Vader’s treasure. If this island didn’t contain the Sea of Stars, then another island close by would have it. It was just a matter of finding it and continuing on to the third and final location. _BB8_ and her family had been in her grasp. And they had slipped away because she couldn’t keep her feelings quiet.

 

_“This isn’t going to work out.”_ He couldn’t meet her gaze. His eyes were focused at a point somewhere beyond her right shoulder. But his words still punched through her gut. _“Just because I pay attention to you doesn’t mean that I like you in that way. You must realize that I wouldn’t--I can’t be with anyone. Especially not someone like you.”_

 

Shame and grief made Rey double over. She curled against the sand, feeling the warm water lap against her back as she disturbed the waves. But she stuffed a fist against her mouth because she wouldn’t make a sound; she wouldn’t. She couldn’t.

 

_Don’t let them hear you_ , Rey would tell herself when she was small, her knees scraped bloody and hunger gnawing in her stomach. But she wouldn’t come down from the tree until Teedo, Davjan and Devi went away. If she made a sound, they would find her. And if they found her, who knew what they would do. Unkar wouldn’t be back until the evening. Plenty of time for Teedo to think up some sick game if he hadn’t already, and for Davjan and Devi to do what he asked. So Rey got very good at staying quiet. No matter how thirsty or hungry or hurt. She would stay quiet. She _should have stayed quiet._

 

Of course Ben wouldn't want her. She was nobody. She was nothing. Ben would never want her. He was smart and handsome. He could have any girl he wanted.

 

What was wrong with her? She couldn't even pretend for a few more days? A week at the most? She couldn't hold it together that she felt nothing for Ben?

 

Rey thought of the girls she'd seen in Takodana with their billowy dresses or their colorful bikinis. Clean smiling girls with soft hands and soft voices. Girls who used spoons and forks to eat their food instead of their hands. Girls who knew how to read and write and knew history. Girls that great men would build monuments to so that they would outlast time.

 

She would always be alone. Her dream to find her family was a fool's quest. She would always be alone. She would die alone.

 

Rey closed her eyes.

 

When Rey opened her them again, the sky was completely dark. It was the night of the new moon. The skies were clear, but the moon was nowhere in sight. From the opening in the cave, Rey saw hundreds and hundreds of stars. She traced Orion's belt, the Hydra, Cassiopeia and even the Big Dipper, with the North Star shining faintly on the horizon. The fulcrum upon which the heavens turned.

 

Then Rey blinked because the waters in the cave weren't just reflecting starlight. There couldn't be that many stars in the sky. Rey stared harder at the waters. Tiny lights flickered in and out of existence like flowers blooming shyly in time with the waves rushing.

 

With a gasp, Rey sat up. Water cascaded down her limbs and flickered to life, reflecting the silvery ghostly hue of starlight. Rey stared at her hands, heart beating fast. The light flickered out just as quickly as it had come.

 

Trembling, she put her hand back into the water. Little stars flickered to existence and Rey pulled her hand back. She splashed the water in a great arc and stars trailed in her wake. She laughed, delighted. She'd found it. Padme had been right. It did seem like a sea of stars.

 

"Rey?"

 

Heart slamming against her ribs, Rey stood up and peered into the gloom. A tall, familiar figure emerged from the shadows. His hair was so dark it seemed to blend into the background, but she'd recognize that profile anywhere. She'd stared at it long enough in during their long hours aboard the _Angel_.

 

"Ben?" she whispered.

 

He strode fully into the dim light. He looked ethereal like a prince cut from starlight and mist. The planes of his cheek and the glint in his eye looked so beautiful to her and she felt a pang in her heart. It wasn't fair that he could cut her with just a look while she was nothing to him.

 

"What are you doing here?" she whispered. "I thought you'd left."

 

"I tried," Ben said.

 

It felt like a knife in her ribs and Rey turned away. "So what made you stay? Something you need from me? Did you sink the _Angel_ into the bay?"

 

Footsteps crunched on sand. Then Ben's hand engulfed her forearm and turned her around. She stared up at him, hopeless and afraid yet again. Rey tried, she really did, but she couldn't help the tears leaking against her eye corners. She was ashamed, furious but most of all, she was just tired.

 

"What are you doing here, Ben? "

 

"I can't do it."

 

"Do what? Sail? there are plenty of other sailors here—”

 

"I can't leave you."

 

"What?"

 

"I am not leaving you."

 

He pulled her into a fierce embrace. It felt like the first taste of water after days of drought. It felt like swimming in starlight. It felt like stepping out into the sun after a hurricane. It felt so good that Rey was afraid. She didn't trust this sweet thing that Ben did.

 

"What are you doing?" she sobbed against his chest. "I don't understand."

 

“You understand me better than anyone else.“

 

"No, no, I don’t. You act one way then say something else. I never know where I am with you. I can't do this anymore and I—”

 

Ben kissed her. It wasn't the artless peck she'd stolen from him hours earlier. It was slow, purposeful like he was drinking her in. A light, a brilliant heat flickered to life in her chest and grew and grew until it felt like a supernova, like the dying thing in her chest was just given a sip of water and clung to that nourishment.

 

And Ben kissed her back with equal fervor. It was overwhelming and so sweet she felt like she could die from it. Padme had been right about that too. Ani was more beautiful to her than any Sea of Stars or Stairway to the Sky. Ben was more beautiful to Rey than any place on earth. The realization made her gasp. Ben took that as inspiration to kiss his way down her neck and pulled her even closer against him.

 

"You have no idea," he growled against her skin, "none, do you? From the minute I saw you, I wanted you." His kisses burned against her skin and she shuddered against him. "No idea how people's heads turn when they see you. No idea what your smile or your touch does to me. Sleeping next to you has been a torment.”

 

Rey felt lightheaded. Blood thundered in her ear. It didn't feel real. None of it felt real. The words made no sense. Not in that order. “You want me?”

 

“Always,” he breathed. Then he kissed her so fiercely that Rey forgot to breathe. She clung to him, desperate for more, for this, for him. She arched against him and Ben gasped, stumbled then yelped in pain. They toppled onto the sand and water. Ben landed on top of her. “Sorry, sorry! Christ, I think I stepped on a broken shell.”

 

“It’s okay,” Rey gasped, feeling dazed. He’d propped himself up so his weight was off her. She squirmed and felt the waters sloshing around her. “Is your foot all right?”

 

“I’m not bleeding, I think. It just hurt like a—” Ben blinked before peering at her more closely. “Are you…are you glowing?”

 

“You didn’t notice?” she grinned. She lifted one hand and a river of starlight cascaded from her hands. Ben looked at her hands then at the cavern. It was no longer dark. Dull points of tiny blue pinpricks rose and fell in time with the waves. She splashed him and the sparks of violets and green appeared along with the blue. “Ben, we’re swimming in stars.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you like Between Sky and Sea, take a gander at my other reylo fanfiction.
> 
> 7 Stages of Attraction: 7-part smutty drabble series when stagehand Rey runs into lead singer Ben from the Knights of Ren.
> 
> This is Us Colliding: Desperate to save her bakery from going out of business, Rey decides to steal apples from Varykino Orchards. Things go awry when Ben catches her in the act. But instead of turning her in, Ben makes an interesting proposal... An apple-picking twist on Beauty and the Beast/Snow White for the Reylo Writing Den fall fic exchange.


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “What does that mean, ‘certain dark things are to be loved?’”
> 
>  
> 
> “Not everybody loves the same way,” Ben whispered, breath tickling her ear. She was seated between his legs, her back pressed against his chest and the blanket wrapped around them.
> 
>  
> 
> “How do you love dark things?” she tilted her head so she could look up at him. His expression had turned thoughtful and also, a little sad. Now that she knew what his happiness looked like, true joy, she could spot the sadness in his expression too. He was always a little sad, Rey realized.
> 
>  
> 
> “Sometimes, great men and women build temples or monuments for the person they love, to outlast time.”
> 
>  
> 
> “Like the Taj Mahal, Abu Simbel and Kodai-Ji Temple?”
> 
>  
> 
> “Mhmm.” Pressed so close, she could feel the rumble in his chest as he agreed. “Sometimes, great men do terrible things for the person they love.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for the sweet comments, kudos, subscriptions and shares! Ya'll inspire me to keep writing (currently on This Is Us Colliding) throughout the week. 
> 
> As a final challenge, if anyone can correctly identify the real-world locations of each of the islands in Amidala's Trail of Stars as well as the scary island in Chapter Five, I will update early :)

Rey couldn’t decide which she preferred—kissing Ben or reading from Padme’s journal. She was almost to the end now, but Ben distracted her. He liked to sneak kisses on her neck or shoulders when she was reading aloud. Each kiss sent a narcotic thrill through her fingertips and she stopped to retaliate. He kissed her with a single-minded focus, as if he were determined to savor her.  When he pulled the blanket over their heads at night, it was like he wanted to shut out the world.

 

For a few days, he did. Cuddled close to him, she watched Ben trace shapes among the stars and listened to their stories. He offered to teach her how to write. When Rey asked him if he knew any more poetry instead, Ben rolled his eyes, and made a counter-offer. He wrote a poem in his beautiful handwriting on the condition that Rey would read it out loud.

 

“ _I love you as certain dark things are to be loved. In secret between the shadow and the soul,_ ” Rey said. With so much practice, she hardly paused now and the words had their own rhythm quite unlike speaking. It was almost like singing, but with music written in the silence. She finished the poem and then asked, “What does that mean, ‘certain dark things are to be loved?’”

 

“Not everybody loves the same way,” Ben whispered, breath tickling her ear. She was seated between his legs, her back pressed against his chest and the blanket wrapped around them.

 

“How do you love dark things?” she tilted her head so she could look up at him. His expression had turned thoughtful and also, a little sad. Now that she knew what his happiness looked like, true joy, she could spot the sadness in his expression too. He was always a little sad, Rey realized.

 

“Sometimes, great men and women build temples or monuments for the person they love, to outlast time.”

 

“Like the Taj Mahal, Abu Simbel and Kodai-Ji Temple?”

 

“Mhmm.” Pressed so close, she could feel the rumble in his chest as he agreed. “Sometimes, great men do terrible things for the person they love.”

 

“Why would anyone do something terrible for love?”

 

“Because she had a light in her face and a fire in her eyes.” At Rey’s questioning look, he elaborated, “A very long time ago in Central Asia, a poor nomad named Temujin and his family were attacked during his wedding. They had only enough horses for the men to flee. So he escaped, but he had to leave his bride behind.”

 

“That doesn’t sound like love,” Rey said sourly, then she quieted at the smile in Ben’s lips and eyes.

 

“Months later, he returned with a large group of men, slaughtered the attackers and reclaimed his wife. He swore that she would never be harmed again. And so he built an army and then an empire and placed her at its head beside him because he couldn’t bear to see anything happen to her again.”

 

“I suppose that’s one way of making up for abandoning her,” Rey said. “Although if he really loved her, I don’t see how he could have left her to begin with.”

 

“To stay would have meant everyone’s death. He escaped so that he could give her a future and her vengeance. But leaving her wasn’t the terrible thing. His armies and his empire were the terrible thing.”

 

“That doesn’t sound terrible,” Rey said.

 

“No? Over forty million people died because of the Mongols. Because Genghis Khan loved his wife Borte.”

 

“Forty mil—” Rey’s mouth dropped open. In her mind, she recalled San Tekka telling her that perhaps seventeen million Jews died during the Holocaust. But twice that number? She couldn’t fathom it. “But that’s not fair, to lay that on his decision to keep his wife safe. That’s crazy. Why would he need to kill forty million people for her?”

 

“You’re right,” Ben said. “It’s not fair to lay all those deaths at Borte’s feet. But armies need conquests. Empires need subjects. And the fire to build that army and that empire started because he loved her.”

 

Rey shook her head, “She must have been beautiful, I suppose, like Mumtaz Mahal.”

 

“Perhaps, but he didn’t say that about her. He said that there was a light in her face and a fire in her eyes. None would stand against her.”

* * *

 

 

The waters shifted from bright blue to a dull, listless grey. Rey no longer spotted schools of fish or pods of dolphins.  The lack of activity disturbed her. The sea had always meant life if you knew how to find it. The wind blew a little colder at night, but Rey didn’t mind that so much. Ben had wrapped her blanket around both of them and they slept soundly in the little berth.

 

On the fourth day, Rey realized they were being followed. She could hear the sound of an engine echoing off the shores of the narrow corridor of islands they were navigating. Padme’s journal indicated a southeastern course on the opposite side of the archipelago from Varykino. They’d passed a dozen islands and atolls, but at each one Ben shook his head and said it was still further out. Any further and they’d be out of the Jakku Archipelago altogether and on their way to Africa.

 

Rey hadn’t told Ben yet about their pursuer. When he wasn’t wrapped up in her, his face was grim and he obsessively took measurements with the sextant and chronometer. For the first time, she saw him doubt Padme’s bearings.

 

“Why doesn’t this compass work?” Ben asked in frustration sometime near noon. They’d had to maneuver over another tricky set of islands, which added an extra hour to their trip. The sky was heavy with clouds that poured a fine mist.

 

“Compasses and GPS aren’t reliable in Jakku.” Rey kept her voice calm.  Letting any of her frustration and exhaustion show wouldn’t do either of them any good.

 

“I’ve flown over this area plenty of times. Never had any trouble when I was up in the air. There must be some sort of large mineral deposits that mess with the electromagnetic field. What are you doing?”

 

“We need to stop.” Rey guided them closer to a nearby beach that offered some protection from the winds. “Traveling off-course is the worst option.” While Rey prepared to hunker down for the night, she heard the unmistakable sound of an engine cutting off. The faint warning bells in her head turned to klaxon wails.

 

“What is it?” Ben frowned at her as he opened their last dry sack of food.

 

She settled close beside him, but she couldn’t help the creeping shiver traveling down her spine. “We’re being followed.”

 

Ben nodded grimly.

 

“You knew?”

 

“Heard them during the last mile. Realized we’ve been hearing it for a while now.”

 

“Is it the Hutts?”

 

“I don’t know.”

 

If the Hutts caught them in the water like this, they were in deep trouble. If they could sneak up on them, Rey and Ben might be able to take on two or three gangsters, but they’d be helpless against an entire boatful of machine-gun toting Hutts.

 

“I think they’ll leave us alone until we reach the islands.” Ben squeezed her hand. “That’s part of the reason I was rushing. I hoped we could lose them here.”

 

It wasn’t a bad plan. Ben had gotten lost too, and he had a map and more reliable means of navigation. But her intuition told her that it was a bad idea to let the Hutts close.

 

“Sky will clear up by this evening.” At Ben’s raised brow, she added, “We can navigate by the North Star.”

 

“What about running into rocks or coral reef?”

 

Rey was proud he’d learned that lesson from her. He’d come far since first stepping on to the _Azure Angel_. “I’ll go slow. You’ll have to keep a look-out at the bow though.”

 

Ben bit his bottom lip and nodded. “All right. If we sail through the night, we should be able to make it to Moons of Iego.”

* * *

 

They lost the Hutts just before midnight. The phantom engine had started faintly when they pulled anchor, then grown louder and louder. Curses had filled the night air, followed by hissed conversation. Rey tried to ignore the sounds and concentrate on Ben’s quiet voice calling out warnings or confirmation that they were on course. At one point, the engines were so loud that Rey was certain they were right behind the _Azure Angel_. But there was nothing. Only shadows and starlight.

 

Just as Ben predicted, they came upon the Moons of Iego a few hours before sunrise. It was a large coral atoll with a perfectly round lake cut off completely from the sea. At its southwestern edge rose three large hills and a small jungle. Just like in Vader’s drawings.

 

Despite the fear and dread bubbling in Rey’s gut, she felt the flush of wonder and the fierce thrill of discovery. They’d made it. Now all they needed to do was find the _Vader_ ’s treasure.

 

There wasn’t any good cover to hide the _Angel_ , so Rey beached the boat instead. If their luck held, they could find the treasure, transport as much of it as could be carried, and leave again before the Hutts found them.

 

Rey hurried to pull on her scavenging gear—headlamp, dry sack, fishing spear and knife. “You think the treasure is going to be underwater or on land? Ben? Ben?”

 

Ben was staring at the pool of water encircled by the atoll. The waters were a faint green in the moonlight but—no. With a startled gasp, Rey leapt down on to the sand to join him.

 

Millions of jellyfish pulsed silver and blue in the clear waters of the atoll. Their translucent bodies undulated in the water like miniature suns —no, moons.

 

“The moons of Iego.” Ben shook his head with a small laugh. “Padme was being literal.”

* * *

 

 

_September 1938,_

 

_Ani asked me to marry him right here on the Moons of Iego. I said yes. There’s so much I need to tell him—my new position in the diplomatic corps, the sickness that took mother and Sola, that will claim the life of any daughter we might have. Father already warned me that I was much too close to Ani. He said that I only thought I liked him because of these “adventures” we keep going on together. He said it was an infatuation born of youth and circumstance, and that he’d disown me if I ever thought of making an “imprudent” marriage. I don’t care._

 

_Father thinks I’m marrying him because I’m afraid. But that’s not true at all. Ani makes me brave. For once in my life, I don’t feel the need to run towards the highest peak or find the rarest flower. With Ani, every sunrise is more beautiful than the last. Drinking coffee, walking to the grocers, reading the newspaper--every simple, little thing feels like magic._

 

_If I only have a few years left to live, then I want to spend it all with him. I will be proud to call myself Mrs. Skywalker._

* * *

 

 

Ben and Rey picked their way carefully along the strip of sand separating the atoll lake from the sea. Half a dozen caiman lay silent along Iego’s shores. They were utterly still, beady eyes watching Ben and Rey’s progress. Iego’s hills and jungle loomed in the darkness ahead. Blue, red and white stars sparkled in the sky along with a crescent moon.

 

“She was Captain Vader’s wife.” Rey turned Padme’s journal over and over in her hand as their flip-flops crunched on the grounds. She couldn’t stop staring at the jellyfish and wanting a chance to swim in the lake’s waters. _“_ She doesn’t seem like a spy.”

 

“The government launched an investigation once Anakin’s betrayal came out.” Ben consulted Vader’s map before pressing forward into the westernmost hill. Thick trees towered overhead and the leaves rustled with calls of insects and small frogs. “But she was so ill and so pregnant that nothing really came of it.”

 

“If Anakin betrayed her, why’d he send her the treasure map?”

 

“I’m not sure.” If Rey hadn’t spent almost every moment of the past week and a half with him, she wouldn’t have noticed the lie. Though his voice was casual, his dark eyes were stone. Ben had an expressive face. She knew he wanted to keep something a secret when he was impassive.

 

“Ben.” She put her hand on his forearm, confused and a little worried.  “You’re not telling me everything.”

 

“Did you get to the end of Padme’s journal?”

 

“What’s that got to do with anything?”

 

He stopped completely and took a long, shaky breath. When his eyes finally met hers, they were terrified. More terrified than during their countless near-misses on the _Azure Angel_ or when the Hutts had attacked them, or even when he’d woken from a plane crash to find himself alone on a beach with a stranger. “You’re much smarter than you think. Do you realize that?”

 

“What aren’t you telling me?”

 

“I—” Ben shoved her, hard. She flew back and landed half-submerged in the lake. In the sudden rush of noise, she almost didn’t hear the _whump,_ followed by a small explosion of sand. A red dot moved from Rey’s chest and up to her face.

 

Ben stepped in front of her, shouting, “Hux! We made a deal, you fucking asshole!”

 

Out of the darkness, the red-haired man strode up to them, flanked by four men in fatigues carrying rifles. Just as in Varykino, Hux’s appearance seemed almost unreal. His clothes were too new, too clean. The uniformed men and their gleaming equipment moved in eerie sync with each other.

 

“You also said you’d keep it neat.” In contrast to Ben’s rage, Hux’s voice was calm. Bored even and mildly irritated. “I simply wanted to hurry things along.” Hux raised a hand and a rifle snapped in her direction.

 

Ben dove in front of her, hauling her bodily behind him. A burst of light and sound blinded Rey. Something hot whizzed past them. Ben flinched and she screamed.

 

“You sick fuck,” Ben snarled.

 

Hux motioned the rifles to lower but his expression was one of pure shock and disgust. “So the reports were true. When our agent told us how you almost beat him to death because he shot at the girl, I thought he must have been hallucinating.”

 

The agent? Rey’s scattered thoughts reformed, whirring in her mind, until she realized: the man near the Stairway to the Sky. He was the man Ben had almost beaten to death. So he wasn’t with the Hutts after all. But that couldn’t be right.

 

“She doesn’t need to die,” Ben hissed, through gritted teeth. “I don’t kill innocent bystanders.”

 

“Since when?” Hux burst into incredulous laughter. “Since you killed your father less than two weeks ago?”

 

Rey felt as if she’d been struck. She looked between Ben and Hux. Ben swallowed, but he didn’t deny the accusation.

 

“You’re working for the Hutts?” Rey stammered. None of it made any sense. They’d been after him from the start. Greedo and Ree hadn’t hesitated to shoot him.

 

“The Hutts?” Hux eyed her as if she were gum on his shoe. “Not likely, considering he killed Han Solo while the man was on a smuggling run for them. I hear they’ve put quite the bounty on your head.”

 

Rey’s mind swam as she recalled Greedo and Griz’s words to San Tekka back in Tuanul.

 

_”He murdered a friend of ours—Han Solo."_

 

“Is this true?” Rey didn’t recognize her own voice. It sounded hoarse like she’d hacked up seawater. Her stomach roiled. “Did you murder your father? Did San Tekka die protecting us for a lie?”

 

Ben didn’t even deign to look at her. Face impassive, he said in a bored voice, “What are you doing here, Hux? We had a deal. I’m not trying to disappear. I’m giving Snoke a reason to keep me alive. I know the game. Right now, I’m dead weight to him. But if I find Vader’s treasure, then that’s over two hundred and fifty million reasons to keep me alive.”

 

A sharp pain lanced through Rey’s lungs. She couldn’t breathe due to the tightness in her chest. She stumbled away from Ben, gasping.

 

“I’m here on Snoke’s orders,” Hux responded crisply. “He suspected you’d concocted some fool’s plot to use the treasure to save your ailing mother. But perhaps you’re not trying to save Leia, after all. Perhaps your head’s turned by some island scum _._ ”

 

“Don’t be ridiculous. Han and Luke spent a fortune trying to find a cure. There is none _._ It’s killed every female in our family without fail. She only has a few weeks left to live. A month, at best. The girl is just a means to get to the treasure.”

 

“You bastard!” Rey’s knife was in her hand and she blindly swiped at Ben. He staggered backward, blood dripping from a wound that stretched up the right side of his face, from his chin to his brow. She followed him down to the ground to strike again, but Ben trapped her wrists and rolled her underneath him.

 

“Is that so?” Hux surveyed their struggling form. “Then you shouldn’t have any problem tying your loose ends. I’m afraid Director Snoke insists. Now, should we put a bullet in her, Ren, or do you want to do the honors?”

 

“Give me your gun, Hux,” Ben spat. Fear pierced through her fury and she howled, writhing and twisting against his grip. They rolled across the shore once again, Rey desperate to throw him off her, but he was too big, too strong. She tried to feel for something around her, a stone, her fishing spear, anything, but her fingers only scrambled against soft sand. Ben caught both her wrists in one hand and used the other to catch a pistol from Hux. The gun looked small in his hands, but terrifying nonetheless.

 

“San Tekka’s dead because of you! I trusted you!” She was so angry and so terrified she almost didn’t notice Padme’s journal settling against her chest. Blinking, she glanced at the thick volume and then up at Ben. They were several feet away from Hux and his men now, and Ben’s frame blocked Rey from their view.

 

“I told you I wasn’t Padme Naberrie,” Ben said. He lifted the gun and shot her.

* * *

 

 

Rey knew the value of keeping her silence. Silence had kept Teedo or Unkar from finding her. Silence kept the nastier sailors and pirates from noticing her. Silence meant fish or other wildlife wouldn’t notice you were about to catch them. And now, silence meant Hux and his men wouldn’t notice she was alive. The bullet slammed into the journal, but hadn’t pierced her chest. Nevertheless, it still felt like a giant fist had slammed against her. She jerked, but Ben shook his head and so she lay quiet, dazed. Then Ben had stood up and walked over to Hux.

 

“That wasn’t particularly neat,” Hux said, disdainful.

 

“Oh fuck off,” Ben snapped. “Are we going to get the treasure or not? The Hutts were on our tail, and I don’t particularly want to wait around for them if you’ve only got these four with you.”

 

Even after they’d gone, Rey still kept quiet. She didn’t know how long she lay there, eyes closed, nursing her hate and her confusion and her rage until she felt like her skin would burst. Though Ben had saved her, that didn’t change the fact that San Tekka had died for nothing. This entire trip had been for nothing but to serve the selfishness of one man who murdered his own father. And she’d let him lie to her! She’d known that he was lying. She’d let him hold her and kiss her, and allowed herself to feel like she was something special. But every kind word had been a means to get his money. _Stupid Rey,_ she thought, _how could you let him play you?_

 

She hoped they’d kill each other. She had seen the look in Hux’s eyes. It was the same greedy look on Unkar’s face whenever she brought up a good haul. Whatever Ben might think, Hux wasn’t about to let $250 million slip through his fingers.

 

The wind picked up again, raising goose bumps on her arms. Pages fluttered in the breeze and when Rey opened her eyes, she saw that papers had come undone from the binding in Padme’s journal. A sheet flipped over.  On it was a simple message written in Captain Vader’s neat, block writing:

 

 

_August 1947_

_My dearest Amidala,_

_I found the cure in Mengele’s journals. I’m turning myself in to Kenobi. He’ll make sure you get treated. You are going to live a long and full life raising Luke and Leia. Leia is never going to fear this illness, ever. It’s going to be just like we’d always dreamed back in Varykino. I promised I’d save you all and I will. Hang on. I’m coming home._

_Yours always,_

_Ani_

  

 

Rey gasped and it felt like life’s first breath. Thoughts spun, tumbled and then clicked into place. Vader’s treasure. Padme’s illness—the same illness that had taken her mother, her sister, her own life and eventually—her daughter’s life. Her daughter whose name was Leia. Ben’s mother. San Tekka’s doubt that Vader’s treasure was treasure at all. Suddenly, Ben’s urgency throughout their hunt made sense. Because if Leia had only a month left to live, then Ben truly had no time. And the only way to save Leia, if her husband and her brother couldn’t find one through modern medicine, would have been her father’s cure. A father who’d never made it home after all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you like Between Sky and Sea, take a gander at my other reylo fanfiction.
> 
> 7 Stages of Attraction: 7-part smutty drabble series when stagehand Rey runs into lead singer Ben from the Knights of Ren.
> 
> This is Us Colliding: Desperate to save her bakery from going out of business, Rey decides to steal apples from Varykino Orchards. Things go awry when Ben catches her in the act. But instead of turning her in, Ben makes an interesting proposal... An apple-picking twist on Beauty and the Beast/Snow White for the Reylo Writing Den fall fic exchange.


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Anakin’s final letter burned in Rey’s mind. He hadn’t betrayed the Allies for money. He had turned traitor to save his wife. She had died before he could reach her with the cure to her illness, an illness that affected all the women in Ben’s family. He’d done a terrible thing to save his wife, just like Ben had done a terrible thing to save his mother. Perhaps, Ben had killed his father. He was certainly responsible for San Tekka’s death. He’d told her as much. He wasn’t a good person. He’d admitted that too. He couldn’t be doing this whole treasure hunt for money. Surely there had to be better ways to make money than to find some old Nazi treasure. No, Rey knew, instinctively, bone deep, that he was doing this to save his mother.
> 
>  
> 
> And Rey, for all that she hated it, understood that too. Because what wouldn’t she do for her family?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for the sweet comments, kudos, subscriptions and shares! Ya'll inspire me to keep writing (currently on This Is Us Colliding) throughout the week.
> 
> As a final challenge, if anyone can correctly identify the real-world locations of each of the islands in Amidala's Trail of Stars as well as the scary island in Chapter Five, I will update early :)

Explosions rocked through the night. Plumes of flame and smoke billowed from the westernmost hill. Rey sat up and hurried to retrieve her discarded knife and fishing spear from the water. She turned her feet toward the  _ Angel _ . No one was in sight. She could be long gone before Hux and his men would return. If she was lucky, they’d think a caiman had eaten her.

 

But Anakin’s final letter to his wife burned in Rey’s mind. Anakin Skywalker hadn’t betrayed the Allies for money. He had turned traitor only to save his wife. She had died before he could reach her with the cure to her illness, an illness that affected all the women in Ben’s family. He’d done a terrible thing to save his wife, just like Ben had done a terrible thing to save his mother. Perhaps, Ben  _ had _ killed his father. He was certainly responsible for San Tekka’s death. He’d told her as much. He wasn’t a good person. He’d admitted that too. He couldn’t be doing this whole treasure hunt for money. Surely there had to be better ways to make money than to find some old Nazi treasure. No, Rey knew, instinctively, bone deep, that he was doing this to save his mother.

 

And Rey, for all that she hated it, understood that too. Because what wouldn’t she do for her family?

* * *

 

According to the map, the  _ Vader’s _ final resting place was in the jungle along the western hill. She kept Polaris to her right and the beach to her left as she stepped carefully through the trees and foliage. The jungle was dead quiet—no sound of insects or frogs.

 

Ahead of her, a glow stick lit a barely visible path through the trees. Its sickly red light bathed the jungle in blood and shadows. She followed the path. Through a break in the trees, she spotted an unusual sight—a lighthouse glinting dully in the path. No, not a lighthouse, Rey realized. She recognized the shape from some of her dives—a conning tower.

 

Another explosion was followed by the groan of tortured metal.  Birds burst from the trees and shrieked into the night sky like angry ghosts. Rey crept through the foliage and peered at the sight before her. The submarine was beached right against the hill. The jungle had swallowed it whole, enveloped it so thickly in its canopy that it looked like a third hill. But Hux had blown several charges of dynamite to clear out the dirt and foliage.

 

A large hulking shape streaked with dirt and rust rose out of the jungle floor, like the carcass of some strange metal whale. The whole structure was tipped precariously on its side, but it looked stable for the time being.  The third charge had been to blast the portal from its hinges, and as Rey watched, Ben, Hux and all but one soldier disappeared inside. A lone sentry stood guard outside, keeping watch on the jungle with one hand on his pistol.

 

She couldn’t afford to wait to get past the guard, but she knew she couldn’t use the gun. The shot would alert Hux that something was wrong. So, careful to remain in the shadows, she crept closer, picking her way through the charred jungle, and climbed up the opposite side of the submarine from the guard. The wind blew bitter and acrid as she moved over the top.

 

With silent steps, Rey took her spear in hand and slammed it over the soldier’s head. He crumpled to the ground with a dull thud. She kept his gun, but threw the rifle to one side of the submarine and then kicked the soldier over the other.

 

The murmur of voices and footsteps echoed faintly from the opening into the submarine. With a deep breath, Rey dropped inside. The place smelled of burnt metal, chemicals, rust, and scummy seawater. The whole structure seemed to sigh with the wind.

 

On soundless feet, she followed the voices. They led her up tilted gangways, past a series of metal doors open to tiny chambers—stateroom, galley, crews’ quarters. Halls branched off to different sections, but Rey knew there was only one place she needed to go: the captain’s quarters.

* * *

 

 

Shouts shattered the silence. Rey moved faster now, heart pounding. At the end of the long hall was a door slightly larger than the rest. A soldier stood outside. Though he faced the hallway, his head was tilted toward the door, clearly interested in what was happening inside. Ben must have been in the Captain’s quarters with Hux and two of the soldiers.

 

A shot rang out from inside the room, followed by thumps. The soldier in the doorway turned. Just as Ben had taught her, Rey lifted the gun, aimed and fired.  The man fell, and Rey ducked back into the shadows. Inside, she heard Hux screaming, “Snoke will never forgive you! You’re a dead man! A dead—”

 

Out of the door the soldier had been guarding, another man stuck out his pistol and, without looking, unloaded his entire clip. Rey dove for the only cover—the corpse. A bullet scored a hot red line across her shoulder, but otherwise she remained untouched. Still using the dead man as a cover, she fired. The bullet hit her assailant’s shoulder and his gun hand went limp. Cursing, Rey aimed once more, but the soldier rushed her. She jerked up to avoid his kicks, but caught one in the stomach.

 

Gasping for breath, Rey spotted Ben grappling with Hux in the center of the large room. Blood was pouring from his hamstring. He caught her eyes and screamed, “Rey!”

 

Then the soldier slammed his fist against her jaw and Rey saw stars. Her gun flew out of her grip. She staggered backward to put distance between her and her attacker. Eyes watering, Rey tried to come up with a plan as she and the soldier sized each other up. He was big, much bigger than she was. But Rey knew from hard experience that size wasn’t the only advantage in a fight.

 

He came at her with a roar. Lightning quick, Rey ducked under his wild blow and stabbed deep with her knife. Staggering, the man cried out and yanked the knife out of his thigh. Blood gushed onto the metal walkway and covered Rey’s hands and face. An arterial hit, just as Ben had taught her.

 

Rey picked up her knife and rushed into the room. Ben had Hux in a chokehold. The man had gone bone-white, gasping and spluttering. He hit Ben’s leg wound and Ben screamed in pain and rage. The sound tore through Rey’s heart. With a snarl, Rey leapt forward and stabbed Hux in the chest. He slumped, then slid to the ground as Ben loosened his hold.

 

Breathing heavily, she stared at Ben amidst the destruction and death.

 

“Rey,” he whispered and it sounded like a prayer.

 

With that faint sound, Rey knew she had made the right choice. She still didn’t know what future lay between them, but she knew they were not yet finished. Whether her next move was to scream at him or to forgive him, they were not done.

 

“Anakin’s journal,” Ben grunted. “It’s on the floor.”

 

Rey wrested an old worn journal similar to Padme’s—no, its twin—from underneath Hux’s prone body. She turned to face Ben, who wavered on his feet. His hand clutched the wound bleeding profusely from his side.

 

“Hi,” Ben said and swayed back into a large desk in the middle of the room. “I think a bullet went through me earlier.”

 

“Shit.” Rey tucked the journal in her waistband. She ripped Ben’s shirt open and saw a small, oozing wound on his left side. When she rolled him over to his back, she saw its twin, but this time, the blood wasn’t a trickle, but a steady drip. She ripped Ben’s shirt into strips. “Hold that wound! Keep pressure on it! It shouldn’t have hit anything but—”

 

“My uncle. Take the journal—”

 

“Shut up for a second!” Rey frantically wrapped the cloth around his waist and cinched it tight. “Lift your arms up!”

 

His hands clutched her shoulders. “My mother needs this journal.”

 

“I don’t even know who you are.”

 

“Then listen.”

 

“No!”

 

“Rey, I need you to listen,” Ben gasped. His grip on her shoulders was so tight it bruised the flesh. “I fly black ops for the Knights of Ren squad under Director Snoke. I torture, I execute, I bomb targets without question. I dropped a missile on my father and didn’t even know it. I caused San Tekka’s death. I took advantage of you. I’m a monster.”

 

“Why are you saying this?”

 

“I’m not a good person, Rey. I don’t deserve your help. But I had to save my mother just like Anakin needed to save Padme, from the illness Padme passed on to her daughter. Rey, I don’t deserve your help, but for my mother, please.”

 

“Deliver that cure to Leia yourself,” Rey snapped. “I’m done doing things for you.”

 

Ben's eyes fluttered and she could have sworn she felt her heart stop. Blood still seeped steadily from the wound on Ben's side. His face was pale and wracked with pain, but Rey set the terror and anger aside to focus on one thing—saving Ben Solo. So she slapped him.

 

“What—what are you doing?” he gasped in between breaths.

 

“Don’t you dare die,” Rey hissed. She looped his right arm over her shoulder, ignored his hiss, and set off at an awkward pace. His face went bloodless as they negotiated the tilted walkways and the ladder exiting the submarine, and then descended to the beach.

 

Her eyes scanned the horizon and she nearly wept with relief when she saw the sleek First Order boat on the beach. Ben’s steps began to falter. Rey half-dragged, half-carried him to the boat. Unlike the  _ Azure Angel _ , the First Order craft was top-of-the-line, with every amenity and comfort for its passengers. Rey ransacked the storage compartments, looking for anything at all to staunch the bleeding. She tried to ignore her bloody fingerprints smeared across the pristine surfaces of the boat.

 

“Rey—”

 

“Shut up! I am going to get you to Takodana,” Rey said as she opened a first aid kit, scattering the contents until she found gauze and a roll of bandages. “You’re going to the hospital and you’re going to save your mother!”

 

His hand wrapped around her wrist and squeezed, weak but warm. “Don’t cry.”

 

“I’m not crying—”

 

“Rey, please.”

 

“Why should I listen to you?” She wrapped the bandage around the wound tightly and ignored his grunt of pain. “You’ve lied to me from the start.”

 

“I didn’t lie about everything. Sweetheart…”

 

“Don’t call me that!”

 

“Rey, I—” Ben’s eyes rolled to the back of his head and he collapsed on the floor.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you like Between Sky and Sea, take a gander at my other reylo fanfiction.
> 
> 7 Stages of Attraction: 7-part smutty drabble series when stagehand Rey runs into lead singer Ben from the Knights of Ren.
> 
> This is Us Colliding: Desperate to save her bakery from going out of business, Rey decides to steal apples from Varykino Orchards. Things go awry when Ben catches her in the act. But instead of turning her in, Ben makes an interesting proposal... An apple-picking twist on Beauty and the Beast/Snow White for the Reylo Writing Den fall fic exchange.


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> She realized that this was what Padme must have felt when she learned of her husband’s betrayal—pain, anger and a deep, immutable love that would never go away.
> 
>  
> 
> Please let me keep him, she prayed to the stars, to Ben’s grandparents, to any deity that would listen. I don’t care that he hurt me. Please let me keep him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Congratulations to EnaBurning for correctly identifying the four islands! Moons of Iego is Jellyfish Lake in Palau, Eil Malk; Sea of Stars is Vadhoo in the Maldives; Doll Island is Islas de Las Munecas in Mexico; and, trickiest of all, Stairway to Heaven is Sylt Island in the German North Sea.
> 
> The hidden wonders in Between Sky and Sea are absolutely accessible to any intrepid adventurer :) 
> 
> If you're curious, the story's name was inspired by and taken from the song Between Sky and Sea by Dive Index (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DK0dPuH490c). Take a listen as you read the final chapter. It really helps set the mood for the final scene with a certain Ben Solo.

Rey didn’t recall how she made it to Takodana in record time. The GPS navigation on the boat kept flickering in and out, but the skies were clear. She remembered staring at Polaris, that tiny light in the sky, and praying that she was headed in the right direction. The motor purred underneath her guiding hand, and she went as fast as she dared without running the risk of crashing into a sandbar or an island. She checked on Ben whenever she could, anxious to see him breathe, and tears blurred her vision.

 

She realized that this was what Padme must have felt when she learned of her husband’s betrayal—pain, anger and a deep, immutable love that would never go away.

 

_Please let me keep him,_ she prayed to the stars, to Ben’s grandparents, to any deity that would listen. _I don’t care that he hurt me. Please let me keep him._

 

They made it to Takodana just as the sun peeked over the horizon. By lucky coincidence, a doctor was visiting Maz in her fortress. They had been nursing cups of coffee when Rey burst in screaming for help. Within hours, Ben was stabilized and packed onto a medical chopper from Isla Nublar.

 

“His name is Ben Solo,” Rey told the nurses when they reached the hospital. Her eyes followed him as they wheeled him through urgent care and into surgery. “His mother’s name is Leia Organa. He said to call his uncle, Luke Skywalker, once we get to the mainland.”

 

“It’s going to be okay,” the pretty nurse said, patting Rey’s shoulder. “The doctors are taking care of him right now. None of the vital organs were hit so we’ll wait and see.”

 

Ben’s surgery was the longest day of Rey’s life. She curled up in the sterile waiting room, cold and afraid, while doctors and nurses bustled past in the hallway. She was so tired, but she couldn’t sleep. Every time she closed her eyes, she saw Hux shooting Ben again and again. So she clutched Padme’s and Anakin’s journals in her hands and waited.

 

The next morning, she met Luke Skywalker. He was much shorter than she thought he’d be, considering Ben’s height, but he seemed to fill the room with a quiet strength.

 

“You must be Rey,” he said, voice raspy but calm. “I’m Ben’s uncle. Maz told me all about you.”

 

“The doctor says he’s still in critical condition.” Rey didn’t even have the strength to lift her head from her knees. “He said we’ll know for sure if Ben—if Ben makes—”

 

“It’s going to be all right, Rey.” Maz had said the same thing to her only a day ago, but it had felt like an empty platitude. _It’s going to be all right, Rey. Your parents will come back. The storms will stop._ But somehow, Rey believed Luke.

 

She nodded and held out Anakin’s journal. “Ben found it. Anakin Skywalker’s cure for Padme’s disease.”

 

Luke’s eyes widened. A shudder passed through him as his hands closed over the journal. “My father’s journal,” Luke whispered, stroking the cracked and aging covers. “My sister’s cure.”

 

"Ben sacrificed everything to get that journal,” Rey said. “He wanted—wants to save his mother.”

 

“Tell me everything,” Luke said. So she did.

* * *

 

 

Two months later, Rey stood in front of two unmarked graves. She dreamed of this moment for so long—of finding the truth about her parents—but now she all felt was a wan sort of emptiness. After all the years of waiting and the past few months’ insanity, she’d found them. Unkar Plutt hadn’t lied after all. They were drunk nobodies who’d dumped her on his doorstep. Luke had explained all this to her a week prior in his study.

 

“I asked an old colleague of mine, Dr. Jocasta Nu, to go through the records. Now, there wasn’t much to go on, but what she found, combined with Maz’s interview with Unkar, pretty much tells us what we need to know.”

 

The pain and loneliness had knifed through her. In the days since Luke’s revelation, she felt like a ghost wandering through his house. Soon, a rising determination surged through her and she told him that she needed to see their graves.

 

“You don’t want to wait for him?”

 

Rey paused in packing her bag. “He needs to stay in the hospital. Leia might need—”

 

“Leia’s doing just fine. She’s got the Senate hearing in a few days,” Luke waved her off. “Besides, she said she’d strangle us with her IV bag if we kept hovering.”

 

The mental image of Ben’s petite yet formidable mother made Rey smile. Then her smile faded as she considered her response. “Ben spent so much time estranged from his family. From his mother. I don’t want to take that away from him.”

 

“There is a difference between family bonding time,” Luke said with a wry smile that hinted at younger, carefree days, “and enforced bonding time because your hospital rooms are right next to each other. But I can see that you’re determined to go, so I’ll book your flight and call Maz.”

 

“Thank you, Luke. I can’t tell you how grateful I am for your help and Leia’s help. Staying with you here feels…”

 

“I’m sure it was a huge adjustment.”

 

“I hadn’t realized there were places where you couldn’t see or smell or hear the ocean for hundreds of miles.” In truth, it’d felt claustrophobic at first, but Luke was unfailingly patient and kind. She supposed it was his repayment for saving his sister.

 

“Just make sure to come back,” Luke said. “Leia will never let me hear the end of it if you got lost somewhere in the Caribbean.”

 

Rey supposed she did feel lost after all. The fishermen on the island told her a little about her parents—that they’d been a quiet couple who lived by themselves, liked to gamble and eventually got into so much debt that they left the island to escape their debtors and took their little girl with them. They’d returned a few months later with no girl, but with the money to pay their debts. They were killed in a storm a few years later.

 

Unkar had been telling her the truth. “This is the last time I’m going to think about you,” she told the graves. The words were taut and brittle like a fishing line about to snap. Her hands trembled and tears trickled down her cheeks. “I expected so much more of you, but in the end...you were nobody. Not because you were poor, but because you chose to be nobody. I’m done looking for my past now. I am not going to be nobody anymore.”

 

A little while later, her heart felt lighter. She made her way to the dock where she tied up the boat Maz lent her. It was a little fishing craft, very old and worn down. Rey had blinked when Maz lead her to it and said, cryptically, “You have a record with boats, dear child.”

 

“I’m not going to crash it,” Rey said, stung. “ _BB8_ and the _Azure Angel_ were not my fault.”

 

“Hmm,” Maz said.

 

Shaking her head, Rey hummed a little. Finn and Poe were coming soon. They'd called her, voices frantic with worry after she sent a message telling them everything. Their expedition ship finally docked in New York, and they’d arrive in a few days. She would see them soon; Rey felt her heart lift with gladness.

 

A buzz filled the air. It soon grew into a roar, followed by a loud splash.

 

“Oh no,” Rey cursed, beginning to run towards the beach. A seaplane landed on the little cove, making a sweeping arc that jettisoned huge waves towards the dock. Maz’s fishing craft overturned and began to sink. “What the hell!”

 

The fishermen ran out of their houses, staring in worry at the newcomer. Rey wasn’t worried; she was pissed. Screaming threats, she thundered up to the dock where the seaplane idled. The door opened to reveal Ben Solo, smiling and relaxed, and so handsome her chest hurt.

 

“You sank my boat!” She jabbed a finger at him.

 

“You left me.”

 

“I—didn’t—you were in the hospital! And you left me first!”

 

“I did,” Ben winced, looking down. “But I’ll make it up to you.”

 

“Are you going to get me a new boat?” Rey asked ominously.

 

“I’ll buy you all the new boats you want,” Ben said. “You can take this plane too.”

 

Just like that, Rey’s anger faded. Cheeks flushed, she asked, “Am I going somewhere?”

 

“Sure you are. Abu Simbel for a start. What about the Taj Mahal and the Kodai-Ji Temple?” Ben hopped from the seaplane’s door to the dock. Rey backed up, but Ben followed her. Swallowing, Rey looked up at him. She had forgotten how tall he was, how his body could block out the world, and how much she liked looking at him. “There’s so much more out there. The Banaue Rice Terraces. Temples in Angkor Watt, the lost city of Macchu Picchu, the Palace of Versailles, the Hampton Court Gardens.”

 

All the places they’d discussed during their harrowing two-week treasure hunt. Places Rey mentioned in passing she would like to go see. He remembered all of them. Every single one.

 

“I’m studying to get my GED,” Rey whispered. “Luke said I could enroll in university if I want.”

 

“You can if you want.” Ben tucked a strand of hair away from her cheek. “You don’t need it, though.”

 

“What are you even doing here? Luke said you had to be careful, especially with Leia bringing Snoke before the Senate. Was that yesterday?”

 

“You didn’t hear what happened?” For the first time, mirth sparkled in his beautiful brown eyes. When Rey shook her head, Ben said, “Mom had his balls in a vice. He tried to attack her.”

 

“That’s not funny!” Rey gasped, shoving him. He rocked back, but only slightly. His chest was warm and strong underneath her palm. “Is she okay?”

 

“She hit him with her crutch.” Ben rolled his eyes. “Knocked him out cold before security could stop her. Luke laughed himself sick.”

 

Rey tipped her head back and laughed. She had only known Leia for a short amount of time, but she could see it—dark-eyed and fierce, wielding her crutch like a club.

 

Ben pulled her to him in a tight embrace. His scent—mahogany and leather—filled her nostrils. He tucked his head against hers and whispered, “I missed that laugh. I missed you. When I woke up that first night and you weren’t there, I thought I’d lose my mind.”

 

“You did.” Rey closed her eyes and let herself lean into the solid strength of him. “You were shouting and throwing things.”

 

“I’m so sorry.” A shudder wracked Ben. “I pulled you into a nightmare. But you saved me anyway. You saved us all. I can never make it up to you.”

 

"You did burn my world down." Slowly, Rey's arms circled around him; hesitant, afraid, not trusting that this could be real. That he could be there, alive and vibrant, wanting her. "But where would I be without you? I know you asked Luke to look into my parents. You freed me from my past and gave me the power to choose."

 

“So what do you choose?”

 

“I want to see Abu Simbel and Taj Mahal and Kodai-Ji Temple. I want to see it all.”

 

“Can I… will you let me come with you?”

 

The hope, fear, and longing in his voice made her heart ache. A fierce ‘yes’ burned on her tongue, but she had to be sure. “I thought you didn’t want to see any of those places. Every time I said I wanted to see anything, you’d just shrug and say it was all right. Why do you want to see it all now?”

 

“You know why.”

 

“No, I don’t! Ben, you’re free too. You can go back to university if you want. You can go back to your family. You can do anything. You don’t have to go anywhere you don’t want. Why would you choose…” Rey swallowed and forced the word out, “me?”

 

“Because there’s a light in your face and a fire in your eyes.”

 

Rey’s heart stopped. She’d heard that phrase before. Ben said it was how Genghis Khan described his great love Borte and why he built an empire to keep her beside him so they would never be parted. His big hand cupped her cheek. His brown eyes blazed. “Because I can’t look away from you and I never want to. Because you’re my North Star, and everything makes sense when I’m with you. Because the world is so much sweeter when I see it in your eyes. Because you’re extraordinary just the way you are.”

 

Rey kissed his palm. Tears pricked her eyes, but she wasn’t sad. She was incandescent. “In that case… Ben Solo, will you come away with me?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to each and every single reader for going on this wild adventure with me. This is my first time writing a story in over two years and the first time COMPLETING a multi-chapter story ever! It's been a dream come true and I am so happy I get to share it with all of you.
> 
> In particular, I'd like to thank my betas zabeta (who had to wade through a horrendous first draft to find the pearls underneath), thewayofthetrashcompactor (without whom my story would still be meandering between tenses), politicalmamaduck (for her attention to detail and great conversation about Oxford among other universities <3) and loveofescapism (for keeping me so on track on the emotional nuances between our heroes). 
> 
> I'd also like to thank reylocalligraphy, rebelrebel, midnightbluefox and nancylovesreylo for their awesome reviews and sharing this story to their wider audience. Midnightbluefox and EnaBurning are rockstars for spending hours solving the pop-culture adventurer puzzle and the location puzzle!
> 
> This all started because of the lovely moderators over at the Reylo Fanfiction Anthology and finished because of the support of the Reylo Writing Den. These writing discord communities have been invaluable in kicking my butt and keeping me going. 
> 
> I'd be remiss if I didn't mention my RL friends: for putting up with my nervous breakdowns and pestering me on my wordcount (L); for puzzling over treasure maps, marine navigation and gunshot wounds (J); for choreographing and enacting(!!) fight sequences and advising me on where best to shoot somebody to inflict damage but not kill them outright (B); and bugging me to give him the link because he couldn't wait to read it (K). This story would never have seen the light of day without you.
> 
> Finally, if you want to see more of my writing, take a look at: 
> 
> 7 Stages of Attraction (completed): 7-part smutty drabble series when stagehand Rey runs into lead singer Ben from the Knights of Ren.
> 
> This is Us Colliding (In-progress): Desperate to save her bakery from going out of business, Rey decides to steal apples from Varykino Orchards. Things go awry when Ben catches her in the act. But instead of turning her in, Ben makes an interesting proposal... An apple-picking twist on Beauty and the Beast/Snow White for the Reylo Writing Den fall fic exchange.
> 
> Hit me up at moonshotsandarchimedeslevers at tumblr. I'd love to geek out with you <3

**Author's Note:**

> This is part of the Two Solitudes that Meet Reylo Fanfiction Anthology. It's a completed work that will be posted up every week on Sunday (to get ya'll through the week!). Thank you so much to zabeta, thewayofthetrashcompactor, politicalmamaduck and loveofescapism for turning what was a super hot mess into something I'm pretty proud of :) Thanks also to all moderators of the Reylo Fanfiction Anthology and the folks over at the Writers' Den for inspiring and supporting me throughout this process. 
> 
> As always, thank you to everyone who likes, subscribes, bookmarks, shares and especially when they comment! Readers enrich the story and, though the story is complete, that's not to say I wouldn't edit if I see some great feedback. Hit me up at moonshotsandarchimedeslevers at tumblr.


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